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OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

IRELAND 



Price 10.«. 6d, 






OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

THE CHARACTER, CUSTOMS, 

AND 

SUPERSTITIONS 

OF 



THE IRIS 



ON SOME OF THE CAUSES 

WHICH HAVE RETARDED THE MORAL AND 
POLITICAL IMPROVEMENT 

OF IRELAND. 



<c Green be thy fields — sweetest isle of the ocean !" 



By DANIEL *£>EWAR. 



LONDON: 

PRINTED FOR GALE AND CURTIS, PATERNOSTER ROW ; 
JOS1AH CONDER, BUCKLERSBURY ; JOHN BALLANTfNE 
AND CO. ; AND CONSTABLE AND CO., EDIN- 
BURGH ; AND KEENE, DUBLIN. 

1812. 






ITHE U1|A|?| 
or CONGRESS ! 

WASHlNOTpK 



W. Flint, Prtoter, Old Bailey, Lontftn. 



TO 

THOMAS BROWN, M.D. 

PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY 

IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, 

THIS VOLUME 
IS INSCRIBED, 

IN TESTIMONY OF 

THE RESPECT AND AFFECTION 

©F 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



ON some of the subjects considered in 
the following pages, men, equally wise and 
good, think very differently: I presume, 
however, that there can be but one opinion 
entertained respecting other topics brought 
under review. The expediency and neces- 
sity of bestowing immediate attention on 
the general improvement of Ireland, are 
points which scarcely admit of any con- 
trariety of sentiment ; though it is not to 
be supposed that the same unanimity will 
prevail in judging of the means by which 
this important object is to be accomplished. 

He who wishes well to mankind, will 
naturally desire to do good on the largest 



vl PREFACE. 

• 

scale which his power will admit ; but a 
very little acquaintance with human nature 
will convince him, that in order to benefit 
men effectually, it is necessary to carry even 
the schemes of benevolence into execution 
gradually. For, as labour is greatly facilitated, 
as well as its quantity augmented by its 
division, so the facility of doing good, and 
the certainty of ultimately succeeding in 
€very design for its accomplishment, de- 
pend very much on allowing our operations 
to be under the direction of a similar principle. 

I am aware that I may have entered too 
fully into the consideration of the advan- 
tages of a national system of education, 
viewed as a question in political science. 
I flatter myself, however, that the remarks 
on this subject will tend to illustrate the 
utility of affording moral and religious in- 
struction to the inferior orders; and may 
suggest hints on the means which should 
be employed for ameliorating the state of 
Ireland, 



PREFACE. Vll 

It was once intended to have entered very 
fully into the consideration of the poetry, 
customs, and superstitions of the native Irish ; 
but these topics will probably be made the 
subject of a future publication. 

London, 
April Uth % 1812. 



The Reader will observe an error in the 
paging of the Notes, arising from the circum- 
stance of the book having been divided in order 
to expedite its progress though the Press. From 
the same cause the pages are renewed in the 
body of the work. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. I. 

Introduction - . Pag* 1 



CHAP. II. 

The Character of the Irish . 2 1 



CHAP. III. 



The Character of the Irish continued — Re* 
marks on the Poetry and Music of the Irish 
— on their Bards, Senachies, and Harpers 48 



CHAP. IV. 
On the Irish Language . 86 



11 CONTENTS, 



CHAP. V. 

Page. 
Remarks on some parts of the History of Ire- 
land . . . 102 



CHAP. VI. 



The Progress of the Reformation in Ireland — 
Remarks on the State of Morals and Reli- 
gion, before this Period . 113 



CHAP. VII. 

Additional Remarks on the Reformation, and 
on the Causes by which its Progress in Ire- 
land has been retarded . 124 



CHAP. VIII. 

On the Progress of English Law and Govern- 
ment in Ireland . 144 



CONTENTS. Ill 

CHAP. IX. 

Page. 

The same subject continued — The Penal Code [ 1, 

CHAP. X. 

Catholic Emancipation . [34 

CHAP. XL 

On the Means which should be employed for 
the Instruction of the Native Irish [66 

Sect. i. 

General Remarks on the Advantages of Na- 
tional Education . . [66 

Sect. ii. 

On the Education of the lower Ordirs of the 
Irish . . [115 

Sect. hi. 
On the Utility of Preaching in the Irish Lan- 
guage » . [141 



IV CONTENTS, 



CHAP. XII, 



On the Poverty of the Peasantry ', find infe- 
rior Orders of the Irish Page. [148 



Notea . . . 331 



OBSERVATIONS, 

Sj-c. 



CHAP. I. 

INTRODUCTION. 



A HAT science whose inquiries are directed 
to the discovery of the sources of human hap- 
piness, and to those impediments which ignor- 
ance, prejudice, and political arrangements 
present to its progress, is doubtless worthy 
of all the study and patient attention which a 
subject so important demands. And though 
at present it is only in the infancy of its being, 
it has bestowed many invaluable blessings on 
the world. 

To discriminate accurately those circum- 
stances and events which may have influenced 
the national character of any people ; to trace 
and unfold the causes united in its formation ; 
and to develope those obstacles which have 
opposed or retarded these causes in their 

B 



2 OBSERVATIONS 

operation, forms one of those departments of 
philosophical investigation that can never 
become useless or uninteresting. The subject, 
considered in this extended light, is, however, 
attended with many difficulties. The early 
history of all nations is necessarily involved in 
obscurity an<j fable; political institutions as well 
as national habits and peculiarities have had their 
origin for the most part from circumstances 
which are now unknown : to form theoretical 
conjectures, therefore, is all to which any claim 
can be laid; which conjectures, however happy, 
will always be attended with some degree of 
that doubt and obscurity which they are in- 
tended to remove. 

Besides, even within the period of authentic 
history, some of the circumstances which have 
a powerful influence uii the character and 
destiny of nations are far from being universally 
obvious. In this respect the history of a people 
is not unlike that of an individual : a circum- 
stance so trivial as to escape his own attention, 
may produce a series of events, all of which 
contribute to form his character and fix the 
part appointed him to perform in human life. 
In many cases, however, it must be allowed, 
that in tracing the origin of national peculiarity 
and improvement the same difficulties do not 
exist. That one government will produce one 



ON IRELAND. 3 

set of manners, and a different government 
another set, is a fact obvious to every one ; 
though it is only philosophers who think it of 
importance to observe the adaptation of these 
various institutions to the production of a state 
of things still more various. " Where the 
"government of a nation is altogether republi- 
" can, it is apt to beget a peculiar set of man- 
" ners. Where it is altogether monarchical, 
" it is more apt to have the same effect ; the 
" imitation of superiors spreading the national 
" manners among the people. If the govern - 
" ing part of a state consists altogether of 
" merchants, as in Holland, their uniform way 
" of life will fix their character. If it consists 
u chiefly of nobles and landed gentry, like 
" Germany, France and Spain, the same effect 

" follows. The geniUS Of a particular sect of 

" religion is also apt to mould the manners of 
" a people. The English government is a mix- 
" ture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy* 
<" The people in authority are composed of 
" gentry and merchants. All sects of religion 
H are to be found among them. And the 
" great liberty and independence which every 
" man enjoys, allows him to display the man- 
" ners peculiar to him. Hence the English, 
* of any people in the universe, have the least 

b 2 



1 OBSERVATIONS 

" of a national character ; unless this very 
" singularity may pass for such."* 

A family affords in miniature a good repre- 
sentation of a tribe or people, The principle 
of imitation and mutual sympathy, so power- 
ful in human nature, leads the little members 
of this little community to resemble, not mere- 
ly their parents, but often one another, in 
disposition, manner and genius. This princi- 
ple accounts for that similarity of character 
to be met with among people of the same dis- 
trict, of the same county, and of the same 
kingdom. We insensibly assume the habits 
of thinking and action of those with whom we 
associate. It is not necessary, therefore, to 
maintain, as some have done, that physical 
causes occasion the diversity of manners 
observable in different nations ; this is suffi- 
ciently accounted for, and certainly not less 
intelligibly, by the unbounded influence which 
moral causes exert on the mind. The laws of 
association,like those of gravitation, are uniform 
in their action ; their force is felt in the various 
scenes and occupations of life ; we may easily 
assign to their operation, therefore, that va- 
riety of mora! phenomena which distinguish 
the different nations of our globe. 

* Hume's Essay on National Character* 
2 



ON IRELAND. 5 

As to the obstacles which retard national 
improvement, they may in general be consider- 
ed as arising from political institutions, from 
national religion, or from the prejudices and 
habits of the people. 

( 1 .) Political institutions. These have an asto- 
nishing power in creating or destroying the hap- 
piness of mankind; in augmenting orcounteract- 
ing, and diminishing national opulence and 
prosperity. In legislating, therefore, for the 
human race, it is necessary, not only that 
statesmen should mean well ; they should of 
all others be the most enlightened. In this 
case, benevolence, unaccompanied with gene- 
ral views, and a considerable portion of that 
foresight which embraces the interests of dis- 
tant ages, as well as the happiness of the pre- 
sent times, will unfortunately do much harm. 
The very eagerness to do good, will, it is pro- 
bable, prompt to an interference in circum- 
stances in which every such interference must 
be injurious. 

There is no principle in political science 
more conformable to truth than this,, that the 
prosperity of the community is best promoted 
by leaving every individual to pursue, without 
any other restraint than that which eternal jus- 
tice and equity imposes, his own interest in 
that way which he may conceive most agreeable 



6 OBSERVATIONS 

to himself. Happy had it been for Europe, 
and the world, if this maxim had regulated the 
conduct of its rulers ! Every branch of human 
industry and labour would then advance in its 
natural order ; and without entertaining any 
visionary prospect, we might confidently ex- 
pect the certain though gradual amelioration of 
human enjoyment. Men will improve them- 
selves, if the circumstances in which they are 
placed furnish a stimulus to that improvement; 
they will also acquire wealth, if their industry 
be rewarded and its effects enjoyed ; and, 
generally speaking, they will become intelli- 
gent and virtuous, if the means of obtaining 
knowledge be fairly placed within their power. 
" What is the species of domestic industry 
" which his capital can employ , and of which the 
*' produce is likely to he nf thp grp.atp.st value, 
" every individual, it is evident, can, in his local 
" situation judge much better than any states- 
" man or lawgiver can do for him. The states- 
" man, who should attempt to direct private 
*' people in what manner they ought to employ 
" their capitals, would not only load himself with 
" a most unnecessary attention, but assume an 
" authority which could safely be trusted, not 
" only to no single person, but to no council or 
< c senate whatever, and which would nowhere be 
6t so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had 



ON IRELAND. 7 

* folly and presumption enough to fancy him- 
" -self fit to exercise it.* 

"That security which the laws in Great Bri- 
" tain give to every man, that he shall enjoy the 
"fruits of his own labour, is alone sufficient to 
"make any country flourish, notwithstanding 
" absurd regulations of commerce; and this se- 
" curity was perfected by the revolution. The 
" natural effort of every individual to better his 
V own condition, when suffered to exert itself 
" with freedom and security, is so powerful a 
" principle, that it is alone, and without any 
" assistance, not only capable of carrying on the 
" society to wealth and prosperity ; but of sur- 
" mounting a hundred impertinent obstructions 
" with which the folly of human laws too often 
"incumbers its operations ; though the effect 
"of these obstructions is always more or 
" less either to encroach upon its freedom, or to 
"diminish its security. In Great Britain indus- 
try is perfectly secure; and though it is far 
" from being perfectly free, it is as free or freer 
"than in any other part of Europe."f 

It is, no doubt, natural to every being pos- 
sessed of power, to wish that others should 
have proofs of its existence. And statesmen 
must feel inclined to perpetuate their fame and 
aggrandise their country by the effect of their 

* Smith's Inquiry, v. ii. p. 182. 
t Ibid, v. ii. p. 319. 



8 OBSERVATIONS 

own legislative authority. But let them recol- 
lect, that their country can only be truly ag- 
grandised by removing every obstruction to 
industry, virtue, and happiness ; and that 
every effort to obtain these ends by counter- 
acting the established order of nature is worse 
than useless. 

Besides, it ought to be remarked, that poli- 
tical institutions, when injurious, produce 
evils which cannot be removed by the removal 
of the institutions. Perhaps, they have given 
the impetus of the national mind a direction in 
which it will continue to move for ages, though 
that direction may be hostile to the interest of 
the people : they probably have given rise to 
prejudices which can only be effaced by a 
length of time and many counteracting princi- 
ples. In such circumstances, even an x enlighten- 
ed legislator, whose first passion is the love of 
human kind, may have the deepest cause to re- 
gret, that he lives in an age when his benevo- 
lent exertions must be limited by the ignorance, 
folly, and corruption of his predecessors. "A 
* c scheme, however happily imagined, may, by 
" the obstacles which oppose, by the difference 
H of the genius and character of the people, by 
" the force of those laws they have adopted, and 
" by long custom, which, asit were, stamps a seal 
" upon them, become alike chimerical and im- 
" practicable. Time only, and long experience, 



ON IRELAND. 9 

" can bring remedies to the defects in the cus- 
" toms of a state whose form is already deter- 
" mined."* 

These remarks are illustrated and confirmed 
by a survey of the history of Europe. It is not 
my object, however, to enter into detail on this 
particular; indeed, without any such details, 
all will agree as to the truth of the following ob- 
servations by professor Stewart, which in one 
sentence expresses all that I wish to advance 
on this head. Of occasional evils, (or evils 
over which the bulk of mankind have no con- 
troul,) he says, that " no inconsiderable part 
" may be traced to the obstacles, which human 
" institutions oppose to the order of things 
" recommended by nature." It is elsewhere 
observed by the same author, that " the parti- 
" cular form, wkich the political union happens, 
" inthecase of any community to assume, deter - 
" mines many of the most important circum- 
" stances in the character of the people, and 
" many of those opinions and habits which 
" affect the happiness of private life."f 

The blessings which are enjoyed under a 
liberal system of government, are so forcibly 
described by Brydone in the following passage, 
that I cannot deny myself the pleasure of quot- 
ing it. He is contrasting the wretched condi- 

* Sully's Memoirs, v. ii. p. 40. 
f Outlines of Moral Philosophy. 



10 OBSERVATIONS 

iion of Sicily, formerly the granary of the Roman 
empire, and still, as it merely regards the soil, 
the finest country in the world, with that of 
Switzerland, the most mountainous of Europe. 
" What a contrast is there betwixt this and the 
" little uncouth country of Switzerland ! —To be 
" sure, the dreadful consequences of oppression 
" can never be set in a more striking opposition 
" to the blessings and charms of liberty. Swit- 
" zerland, the very excrescence of Europe, where 
" nature seems to have thrown out all her cold 
" and stagnating humours; full of lakes, marshes, 
" and woods, andsurrounded by immense rocks, 
" and everlasting mountains of ice, the barren, 
" but sacred, ramparts of liberty. Switzerland, 
" enjoying every blessing, where every blessing 
" seems to have been denied; whilst Sicily, 
" covered by the most, luxuriant hand of nature; 
" where heaven seems to have showered down 
" its richest blessings with the utmost prodi- 
" gality, groans under the most abject poverty, 
" and with a pale and wan visage, starves in 
" the midst of plenty. It is liberty alone that 
" works this standing miracle. Under her 
I' plastic hands the mountains sink, the lakes 
" are drained, and these rocks, these marshes, 
" these woods, become so many sources of 
" wealth and pleasure/'* 

* Brydone's Tour through Sicily and Malta, v. ii. p. 35* 



ON IRELAND. 11 

(2.) The state of a nation with regard either to 
its deterioration or improvement, depends also 
on its religion. If that be full of bigotry and 
intolerance ; if its genius be hostile to the pro- 
gress of knowledge, there can be no question 
but it will form the best security to corrupt 
rulers, and a most powerful impediment to the 
civil liberty and general happiness of the sub- 
ject. Religious prejudices are of all others the 
worst, because they are the most inveterate ; 
and you may as soon attempt to stop the torrent 
in its headlong course, as instantaneously to 
change the bias of a nation, when that bias 
owes its existence to the influence of a narrow 
and degrading superstition. 

It is true, it sometimes fortunately happens, 
that such a superstition is not very intimately 
associated with tK© concerns of life, and, there- 
fore, has less power on the progress of human 
affairs. When, however, it interferes with 
the prerogative of the magistrate ; when it pre- 
sumes to dictate to the sovereign and the senate 
of the people ; when its leading maxim is that 
ignorance and incapacity form the security of 
the multitude ; and when it proscribes as here- 
tics, and punishes as infidels, all who do not 
adhere to its dogmas, then, indeed, it produces 
the most baneful effects of the most baneful 
superstition. And it is difficult to say, what 



12 OBSERVATIONS 

greater curse heaven in its wrath can inflict on 
mortals : it takes away the power as well as the 
inclination of noble and liberal exertion ; it de- 
stroys some of the most important sources of 
human happiness; and unlike the tempest 
which lowers and darkens only to produce a 
more brilliant sunshine, it spreads a cloud of 
night over the land, which the brightest rays 
of genius may long attempt in vain to penetrate, 
and the clearer light of revelation be scarcely 
able to remove. 

How unlike the rational, and mild, and bene- 
ficial, and ennobling religion which nature ap* 
proves, and which God prescribes. This is 
the religion of peace, and joy, and righteous- 
ness, of mercy, and forgiveness ; possessing no- 
thing gloomy or forbidding, but all mildness, 
and gentleness, and love : — -destitute of all local 
peculiarities, of expensive rites, of unmeaning 
ceremonies, it has no temple, no altar ; it comes 
like heaven's fairest gift, forcing itself on the 
attention of none, refusing violence in every 
instancefor its support, but freely offering its be- 
nefits to all. How* opposed to all the disgust- 
ing pomp and bigotry, and cruelty of superstition. 

The influence which this religion exerts on 
civil liberty and national prosperity may be in-/ 
direct, but it is powerfully efficient. It makes 
the people more thoughtful and less turbulent, 



ON IRELAND. IS 

more enterprising and less fickle, more attentive 
to order and subordination, but more impatient 
under real oppression and tyranny. To whom 
are we indebted for British freedom ? to men 
who could not bear the yoke of ecclesiastical 
bondage ; to men who may have been called 
puritansand fanatics^ but who certainly possess- 
ed a sound judgment, and were animated by a 
noble enthusiasm. " Their views, far from 
" being odious, are surely large, and generous, 
" and rtoble : to their prevalence and success the 
" nation owes its liberty ; perhaps its learning, 
" its industry, commerce, and naval power: by 
" them chiefly the English name is distinguished 
" among the society of nations, and aspires to a 
" rivalship with that of the freest and most illus- 
" trious commonwealths of antiquity ."* 

( 3.) I have said also that certain prejudices 
retard the improvement of nations. These have 
their origin either from political institutions, 
or from national religion^ or from circumstances 
peculiar to the history of the people who en- 
tertain them : all, from the philosopher to the 
peasant, are, though unconscious to themselves, 
in a greater or less degree, subject to their in- 
fluence. There is no profession, no depart- 
ment of life, no literary or trading corporation, 

* Hume's Essay on the Coalition of Parties, p. 431. 



U OBSERVATIONS 

which is exempted from their controul, and that 
has not to contend with the prejudices pecu- 
liar to its party, more confined indeed than 
those which are national, but not less powerful, 
not less efficient in modifying and forming the 
character. So much is man the child of habit 
and influenced in all his conduct by prepos- 
session, that the religious, or political, or lite- 
rary sect with which he has always associated, 
may frequently be distinguished, by the direc- 
tion it has given to the usual current of his 
ideas, to the predominant bias of his mind, to 
his pursuits, and taste, and feelings. His very 
language, without the aid of which he can scarce- 
ly form an accurate conception, exercises a 
power over his thinking habits unknown to 
himself; a power which, because it is constant- 
ly present to every one, and seems as obsequi- 
ous to the clown as to the orator, is not, as a 
source of error, often felt or observed, but 
which on this very account is more universal 
than any other cause. 

The prejudices, however, that are common 
to a nation are more palpable than such as are 
peculiar to the several parties into which the 
nation is divided. In some instances, indeed, 
it may be difficult to ascertain in what propor- 
tions political and moral causes have combined 
to produce them ; to say where the former be- 



ON IRELAND. 15 

*an and the latter terminated their operation, 
since they may be so modified by the varying 
circumstances of ages as to render their nature 
complex and their origin obscure. Besides, 
they may continue in all their force long after 
the local peculiarities and arrangements from 
which they had arisen are forgotten. But in 
all ordinary cases, it is not difficult to trace the 
more common prejudices, or such as are truly 
national, to either of the causes already men- 
tioned. And hence the variety of inveterate 
prepossessions of different nations arise from 
their various forms of religion, and political in- 
stitutions : and these, while they become a 
barrier to the introduction of every thing that 
is new, present, it may be, an obstacle, in the 
direction in which they tend to every thing that 
is truly salutary and ameliorating. 

It must be allowed, however, that there are 
cases in which prejudices and popular opinions 
may be conducive to individual happiness and 
national prosperity. If, in the multitude, they 
are the result of the maxims and institutions of 
a free country, and are formed with the most 
favourable aspect to civil and religious liberty, 
they then come in aid of the sober dictates of 
reason and philosophy, and give energy and 
effect to the enlightened deductions of the sage, 
and the generous efforts of the legislator : and 



16 OBSERVATIONS 

thus combined, they carry on the society, with 
a silent but irresistible force, through the pro- 
gressive stages of improvement and opulence, 
to that consummation of moral and political per- 
fection, which perhaps no nation has ever yet 
attained. For example, how greatly is the pros- 
perity of Scotland owing to the popular opi- 
nion of its inhabitants, that it is mean and dis- 
graceful to them, to permit either themselves or 
their relatives to become dependent on the 
public I This opinion is strictly national, pecu- 
liar to the country north of the Tweed ; and 
to perceive its immense utility, it is only neces- 
sary to observe the effects which result from 
the want of it, not merely in the neighbouring 
states, but in other parts of our own em- 
pire. In England the labouring classes have 
no such feeling ; they liave no apprehension 
of shame and wretchedness arising from a state 
of absolute dependence ; they have not, there- 
fore, the same incentive to industry, the same 
anxiety to make some provision for sickness 
and old age : they enter the workhouse, if not 
with pleasurable emotions, certainly w T ith Hhe 
absence of such as are painful, and seem to 
consider themselves as respectable and happy 
when they receive their food from the parish, 
as when they procured it by their labour. It 
is not my business at present to inquire into 



ON IRELAND. 17 

those causes which produced this popular opi- 
nion in the one case, or into those which occa- 
sioned the want of it in the other : I have men- 
tioned it as one instance out of many that may 
be adduced to shew, how inveterate opinions 
and prejudices may have a favourable or unfa- 
vourable influence on national industry and 
happiness. 

That kind and beneficent Being who has so 
constituted the mind of man as to make some 
share of individual happiness compatible almost 
with any state of society, has provided for his 
comfort by that very principle of his nature 
which leads him to form strong prejudices, and 
which, therefore, when under improper direc- 
tion, leads him astray. While it prompts him 
to look with affection on every object to which 
he has long been accustomed, it tends to recon- 
cile him to the evils which necessarily mingle 
with his lot, and to produce a greater degree 
of satisfaction and enjoyment, than otherwise, 
if placed in the same circumstances, he could 
have possessed. How happy is it when the 
objects with which he has always been sur- 
rounded are good ; when the political and reli- 
gious views and opinions to which he has 
conformed himself, are conducive to the high- 
est moral attainment of man ; and when the 
prepossessions which are interwoven with the 

c 



18 OBSERVATIONS 

very essence of his mind, are such as no one 
can ever wish to see destroyed ! 

Though it is not in the power of the legisla- 
tor to deliver the multitude completely from 
the dominion of prejudices, he may by his 
efforts greatly diminish the force of such as are 
injurious; as he may, on the other hand, from 
considerations of policy, give them additional 
strength by associating them with the best 
feelings of the heart. The .guilt, however^ 
which he incurs, who by his talents or his 
address fosters the prejudices Of the people in 
opposition to the moral or political good of 
society, is infinitely greater than that of Caesar 
or Alexander, who, for the sake of being ac- 
counted the conquerors of the world, sacrificed 
its interests to their ambition : the guilt of the 
latter was chiefly restricted to the period which 
terminated their own dark and destructive career, 
and without any farther accumulation accom- 
panied them to the tribunal of eternal justice; 
but so long as his opinions continue to exert 
their influence, that of the former is transmitted 
with increased aggravation to distant ages-. 

Political institutions which are confessedly 
bad, combined with ignorance and superstition 
in the multitude, retard the improvement of 
nations, chiefly by the prejudices to which 
they give rise. The institutions themselves 



ON IRELAND. 19 

xnay be destroyed by successive revolutions of 
empires, but unless a similar revolution takes 
place in the public mind, the same prejudices 
remain to obstruct the progress of knowledge 
and civilization, and to render fruitless the best 
attemptsof the patriot and the philosopher. How- 
then is the influence of such prejudices to be 
diminished ? There seems no way in which this 
♦can be done effectually but by the general in- 
struction of the people. To deliver them, in- 
deed, from the power of opinion, it is vain ever 
to expect; nor, though it were possible, is it 
desirable, that such a change in the constitu- 
tion of society should take place. But it is 
surely possible by a national system of educa- 
tion, and by other means of communicating 
information, to make the very prejudices of the 
people subservient to their political and moral 
improvement, and to make even the weak- 
nesses of man " lean to virtue's side." 

The object of these remarks on political in- 
stitutions, popular prejudices, and national re- 
ligion, can scarcely bemisunderstood by anyone. 
Its connection with the design of these pages, 
which is to offer a few observations on some 
of the causes which have retarded the moral, 
political, and religious improvement of Ireland, 
is very apparent. Let it not be supposed, how- 
eve^ that I mean to enter very profoundly into 

c 2 



20 OBSERVATIONS 

this intricate subject ; my only aim is to ad- 
vance some detached hints respecting the diffi- 
culties in question, and to point out the means 
by which they may be removed* or their influ- 
ence counteracted and overcome. — A tour 
through that country has enabled me to prose- 
cute inquiries which otherwise could not be 
conducted with the same facility and advantage. 
An acquaintance with the Irish language has 
put it in my power to enter more fully into the 
views and prejudices of the Irish nation, than 
the mere English traveller could possibly have 
done. — My book, such as it is, I present to 
the public, with the sincerest desire to promote 
the interests of a nation, which may, at some 
future period, be the glory of the British em- 
pire. 



ON IRELAND. 



CHAP. IT. 



n 



THE CHARACTER OF THE IRISH. 

IN Ireland there are two classes of people per- 
fectly distinct in genius, manners, customs, and 
dispositions, as unlike each other as the lowland 
peasantry of Scotland are to that of the High- 
lands, or as those of England are to that of 
either. A stranger in that country, therefore, 
is in danger of falling into one of these two 
errors; either of forming his opinion of the 
national character from one of these classes ; 
or, if he should see part of both, of imbibing 
prejudices from the one unfavourable to the 
other, and of being hurried into an erroneous 
conclusion from partial and imperfect observa- 
tion. 

The Anglo- Hibernian differs more from the 
native Irish, than he does from the English. 
His character is rather complex : it is com- 
posed of qualities which are common to this 
country and his own, with some .marked pecu- 
liarities which are distinct from either. Though 
he is proud of being an Irishman, he is full of 



22 OBSERVATIONS 

prejudice against the aborigines of his country ; 
he heartily hates their language, their customs, 
and their superstitions ; and is not unwilling 
that they should be considered less friendly to 
the government and constitution than himself. 
Possessed of this violent antipathy he is little 
qualified -to receive accurate information, or to 
entertain a just opinion respecting them ; and, 
accordingly, while he thinks he perfectly 
^understands their character, he is really much 
snore ignorant for the most part on this head, 
than the intelligent, the candid, and the un- 
biassed traveller. He looks with contempt oh 
the poor unlettered native, a feeling that has 
l>een transmitted from his ancestors, and is 
interwoven with his earliest associations. 

To this character of the Anglo- Hibernian 
there are obviously many exceptions. In every 
country there are many individuals who rise 
above the opinions and prejudices which cha- 
racterise the multitude of their nation. The 
Temarks which I have made on this subject are 
in general to be restricted in their application' 
to the character of the people. 

As to the original Hibernian, his character 
has not been well nor generally understood, 
Few have examined it with friendly disposi- 
tion, and still fewer have been placed in cir- 
cumstances favourable to investigation, or have 



ON IRELAND. gS 

had the qualifications requisite to form a fair 
and impartial judgment. An original Irish- 
man resembles in many respects a Highlander ; 
m some grand outlines he is indeed different, 
but this should be attributed perhaps to his 
situation, which is certainly little calculated to 
unfold his genuine character, rather than to any 
great essential distinction. To a stranger altoge- 
ther'unacquainted with his language or customs, 
like a Highlander, he appears very different 
from what he really is ; he assumes the sem- 
blance of dispositions and qualities which are not 
the most characteristic of his nature ; and lest 
the dear language of his fathers, and supersti- 
tions of his earliest days, should be exposed to 
unhallowed ridicule, he will seem very uncon- 
cerned about either. This disposition is natu- 
ral, and perhaps may be common to all nations 
that are much separated from foreigners, and that 
have only advanced to a particular stage of ci- 
vilization. For though the Irishman has been 
surrounded during several centuries with 
strangers, yet jealousy and pride, and injurious 
treatment have confirmed him in his prejudices 
and have strengthened his attachment to the 
characteristics of his own people. This pre- 
judice against the sons of the stranger who have 
settled in his country, operates much more 
powerfully in him than in the Highlander of 



f4 OBSERVATIONS 

the present day : and it must be owned, that 
the latter has always had more justice done 
him than the former. 

Though I have said, that there are two 
classes of people in Ireland of a different ori- 
gin, it should be observed, that there are 
three, if we include the Scots of Ulster, who 
settled there in the reign of Charles the first 
and second. They are a sober, industrious, 
and in general a wealthy people ; proud of the 
name by which they are designated, and still 
retaining a hearty dislike to popery and all its 
adherents. Those counties in which they re- 
side may easily be distinguished by the stran- 
ger from the advanced state of their agriculture 
and manufactures, and from the superior com- 
fort and cleanliness of the inhabitants. In 
Ulster are to be found the three classes which 
divide Ireland, the native Irish, or aborigines, 
theAnglo-Hibernians or English settlers,and the 
Scots. The first class in this province, consists 
of servants, sometimes tenants, as in Donegal 
and Antrim, where they compose the greater 
part of the population, and in a few instances 
proprietors ; the second class, or Anglo- Hiber- 
nians, belong nearly all to the description of 
landed gentry ; and the Scots, who are both 
tenants and proprietors, compose chiefly the 
manufacturing class. No part of Ireland is 



ON IRELAND. 25 

More unproved than some parts of Ulster, and 
there is no part where the influence of religious 
antipathies and prejudice is more apparent. I 
have often been astonished to see a man ignor- 
ant and vicious, contend as furiously for the 
meeting-house, or church, or chapel, as if the 
religion of Christ had been confined to either 
of these places of worship, and as if he him- 
self had been the most devout and exemplary 
christian on earth. A religious designation is 
here the name of a political party, as well as of 
a religious body ; and it is no unusual thing to 
meet with a ruffian, who would fight for that 
sect w r hose name he bears, w r hilst he is totally 
ignorant of the tenets of every sect. 

The religious animosities which were 
strengthened by the atrocities committed by all 
parties during the civil war which ended with 
the treaty of Limerick, have always been con- 
tinued in Ireland. They have been kept alive 
by parading associations, calling themselves 
the friends of government, by political depres- 
sion, by ignorance, superstition, and barbarism. 
How unfit are men, placed from their infancy 
in these circumstances, to judge of the charac- 
ter of one another with candour or fairness ! 
The native Irishman has accordingly seldom 
met with justice ; his vices have been held 
forth as unequalled ; his disposition as fero- 



26 OBSERVATIONS 

cious, and his mental culture hopeless ; whilst 
the fine qualities which essentially compose 
his character have been overlooked or carica- 
tured. 

There is no mark by which the Irishman 
(always recollecting that by this I mean the 
original race of the country, ) is more distin- 
guished than inquisitiveness. He will walk 
miles with you to discover where you come 
from, where are you going, and what is your 
business ; he will appear merry to make you 
frank, and perfectly untutored and simple 
with a design constantly in view. This dis- 
position has been cherished by the recitation 
of the sceuldachs, a species of legendary tales 
that have been transmitted from time imme- 
inoriah Every one is in possession of some of 
these ; and the recital of them is one of the 
most favourite pastimes. As there is not 
one in a thousand of these people who can 
read, and as their priests do not often conde- 
scend to deliver sermons, this may be con- 
sidered as the principal source of their in- 
struction. And, however extravagant some 
of these stories may be, they are not alto- 
gether useless even in this point of view ; they 
refer the mind from the present, to the past, 
and the future ; they sharpen the intellect and 
furnish it with ideas ; and they tend to excite 



Oy IRELAND. 27 

and gratify a powerful curiosity. A people 
possessed of this disposition, though sunk in 
ignorance and superstition, will nevertheless 
rise; and though circumstances for a time 
may repress its ardent impulse, yet their situa- 
tion cannot be considered as hopeless while 
that impulse remains. 

The tales of the bards and senachies pro- 
duce a powerful influence on individual cha- 
racter. They begin to make their impression 
at that period of life, when almost any im- 
pressions may be made, and, when once made, 
can scarcely ever be completely effaced. Besides, 
the influence which the tale exerts }s the more 
permanent, since the young listeners are gene- 
rally allied, either by kindred, or tribe, or na- 
tion, to the hero, of whose marvellous exploits, 
or tragic death, it. is the history : all the warm 
and sympathetic affections of the tender mind 
are thus awakened, and dwell with infinite- 
delight on the fond image which an astonished 
imagination has formed. 

Though there are neither bards nor sena- 
chies in polished society, who amuse and in- 
struct by the recitation of their tales and their 
songs, there are few who have had the advantage 
of liberal education, who have not felt in early 
life something analogous to the influence to 
which I have referred. Even the youth 



23 OBSERVATIONS 

whilst yet a boy, when reading the simple tale 
of his favourite hero, performs already, in ima- 
gination, the deeds for which he is so much 
renowned, and longs for the period when the 
energies of riper years will enable him to rival 
the glory of the man, who seems to his infant 
mind to possess little in common with the other 
beings of his race but the name. If in this way 
Alexanders and Caesars be formed, perhaps to 
be the scourge of their own age, the . terror of 
the world, and the guilty object of unthinking 
admiration to the people of future times, how 
pleasing is it to reflect, that in the same manner 
also are produced Platos, and Bacons, and 
Newtons, philanthropists, philosophers, and 
moralists, men who will be the ornament and 
the source of ever-growing enjoyment to the 
human kind ! 

An inquisitive turn of mind is generally 
accompanied with some degree of thoughtful- 
ness. A Highlander is both inquisitive and 
thoughtful, so is an Irishman ; though I am 
inclined to think, that he has not got quite so 
much of the pensive philosopher in his nature. 
He can much more easily become jocular than 
a Highlander ; nor is he so apt to make those 
moral reflections on the common incidents of 
life. The latter has a degree of tender melan- 
choly in his disposition v\ hich influences 



ON IRELAND. 99 

most of his habits of thinking ; whereas the 
former, though far from being destitute of 
melancholy, is not subject in the same degree 
to its controul. It is difficult for me, and per- 
haps impossible in itself, accurately to draw, 
on this delicate head, the line of distinction^ 
That there is a difference, however, will be 
readily admitted, and this may have been partly 
occasioned by the following circumstances.* 

First, there is a vast contrariety in the 
scenery of the Highlands to that of Ireland. 
That of the one is wild, and rugged, and sub- 
lime, calculated to cherish a deep toned 
thoughtfulness : that of the other is hilly and 
beautiful, but not generally bold, and seems 
less adapted to elevate the imagination, or to 
increase the tender pensiveness of the heart. 
In the one case, " the solemn and touching 
" reflection perpetually recurs, of the weakness 
" and insignificance of perishable man, whose 
■*' generations pass away into oblivion with all 
" their toils and ambition, while nature holds 
" on her unvarying course, and pours out her 
" streams and renews her forests with un decay - 
" ing activity, regardless of the fate of her 

* The causes which have operated to produce a difference 
in the character of the Highlander and native Irish are more 
fully considered in the following chapter. 



30 OBSERVATIONS 

" proud and perishable sovereign :" while in the 
other case the same loftiness of conception is 
less frequently cherished, the same ardent and 
pleasing sensibility is perhaps less uniformlyex- 
cited,the same dark, and mournful, and affecting 
images do not present themselves. Besides, 
4,he Highlander generally passes his life more 
retired and in a manner much more solitary 
than the Irishman, and is often left altogether 
to his own reflections, and to the impressions 
which a wild and mountain scenery pro- 
duces. 

In Lei trim and in some parts of the county 
of Donegal, the character of the natives ap- 
proximates nearer to that of a Highlander, 
than elsewhere. The scenery of both these 
counties is wild and romantic. 

Secondly, these two characters are placed in 
very different circumstances in a moral point 
of view ; and it is on this particular that I am 
disposed to place most stress-. The one posses- 
ses the advantages of an enlightened education, 
and of moral and religious instruction, while 
the other unhappily is in a great measure, des- 
titute of both these blessings. Now, it is 
probable that the difference in the character of 
the Hibernian and Caledonian, as it regards deep 
thoughtfulness, is chiefly owing to this differ- 



ON IRELAND. 31 

ence in their situation. In poetry, and bards, 
and music, and in tales of the times of old, they 
have been, in former ages at least, pretty much 
on a level : these, therefore, while their influence 
continued could produce little variation in the 
national mode of feeling. But when sensi- 
bility is under the guidance of moral sentiment, 
it dignifies the character, it chastens the imagi- 
nation, and it makes a feeling which originally 
existed in the same degree in different indivi- 
duals, appear different oiily from its being 
variously modified. 

Acuteness and shrewdness are also qualities 
which strongly mark the Irish character ; and 
yet these valuable qualities are often concealed 
by that appearance of simplicity, and that 
blundering precipitancy which so mightily 
amuse every stranger. Indeed, these last dis- 
positions seem not very compatible with any 
extraordinary quickness of apprehension, and 
might lead one to suppose, were it not for the 
most undeniable evidence to the contrary, that 
it really had no existence. But let any one 
converse with an Irishman on any subject that 
is not altogether beyond his understanding, and 
he will find him shrewd though unlettered, and 
not quite unintelligent, though on most subjects 
uninformed ; possessing a wonderful facility of 
comprehension, and an equally singular talent 

.9 



32 OBSERVATION 3 

for acute and original remark. These endue- 
ments when found in a person educated and 
polished, and when allied, as in his case they 
generally are, with a brilliant playfulness of 
fancy, produce the happiest effect, and form a 
character at once pleasing and original. 

Strong local attachment forms a very pro- 
minent part of this character. The Irishman 
like the Highlander must often go from home ; 
he must go in search of that bread which his 
country denies him, but he can never forget the 
cottage of his early years : whether in the east 
or west, though even buried amid the igno- 
rance and vice of St. Giles's, the lovely valley 
in which he first began to live, and the green 
hills of his native isle, with all the soft and en- 
dearing associations which they awaken, never 
cease to warm his imagination, nor, to his latest 
hour, do they depart from his memory. The 
wild and simple strains which first delighted 
him in the cabin, while they sooth his sorrows 
in a foreign clime, cherish his fondness for 
home, by exciting the tenderest and most de- 
lightful sympathies of the human heart. The 
beautiful language of the poet who sung the 
pleasures of hope, is as conformable to truth 
on this head as it is poetical ; and describes the 
force of the amor patrice, much better than any 
dissertation on the subject. 



i 



ON IRELAND. 33 

There came to the beach a poor exile of Erin ; 
The dew on his thin robe was heavy and ehill ; 
For his country lie sighed, when at twilight repairing, 
To wander alone by the wind-beaten hill. 

" Sad is my fate !" said the heart-broken stranger* 
" The wild deer and wolf to a cover can flee ; 
*' But I have no refuge from famine and danger, 
" A home and a country remain not to me. 

" Never again in the green sunny bowers, 

** Where my forefathers lived shall I spend the sweet 

hours ! 
" Or cover my harp with wild woven flowers, 
" And strike to the numbers of Erin gu brath. 

" Erin my country ! though sad and forsaken, 

" In dreams I revisit thy sea-beaten shore ; 

" But alas ! in a far foreign land I awaken, 

" And sigh for the friends who can meet me no more ! 

" Where is my cabin door, fast by the wild wood? 
" Sisters and sires did ye weep for its fall ? 
" Where is the mother that looked on my childhood ? 
** And where is the bosom friend, dearer than all r 

<J Yet all its sad recollection suppressing, 
" One dying wish my lone bosom can draw : 
" Erin ! an exile bequeaths thee his blessing! 
" Land of my forefathers, Erin gu brath ! 

** Buried and cold when my heart stills her motion, 
" Green be thy fields, sweetest isle of the ocean ! 
" And thy harp-striking bards sing aloud with de~ 

votion, 
" Erin, mavournin, Erin gu brath l 1 '* 

Erin gu brath, i. e. Ireland for ever. 
D 



3% OBSERVATIONS 

To some the mild enthusiasm, the ardent lore 
of kindred and of country, expressed in these 
lines may seem inapplicable to the Irish charac- 
ter. But I can assure such that I have wit- 
nessed a considerable share of this even among 
the low and uneducated part of that people in 
London. When I spoke to them in their own 
language, their national enthusiasm was kindled y 
and for a while they seemed to forget that they 
were in the land of strangers. And though 
doomed to ignorance, penury, and toil, at home 
as well as abroad, yet, so fond are they of their 
country, and of every thing connected with it, 
that he who will talk to them in the tongue of 
their fathers, which they regard as sacred, and 
who seems not displeased with their customs,, 
will be considered as their countryman and 
friend. The same strong local attachment, 
and love to kindred, I have observed, among 
that part of the population to which I refer in 
every part of Ireland. When I asked an 
Hibernian about his country, whether he had 
any inclination to go to America, where he 
might have as much land as he chose for pota- 
toes, his answer, however many hardships he 
actually suffered, generally had the same im- 
port with the language of Ulysses. 

Low lies our isle, yet blest in fruitful stores, 
Strong are her sons, though rocky are her shores; 



ON IHELAND. $£ 

And none, all ! none so lovely to my sight, 

Of all the lands that heaven o'erspreads with light. 



This extreme warmth of affection, this strong 
attachment to kindred, is very compatible 
with some decree of turbulence or even fero- 
city. Of the truth of this remark, the follow- 
ing anecdote affords a beautiful illustration : it 
is recorded in Leland's History of Ireland, under 
the reign of Henry the Sixth. O'Connor, the 
turbulent Irish chieftain of O'Faltyvhad alarmed 
the deputy by an inroad into the district of Kil- 
dare. He was surprised by Fitz-Eustace, and 
his troop put to the rout. The chieftain, in 
endeavouring to escape from his pursuers, fell 
from his horse ; his son, the companion of his 
danger, stopped and remounted him ; but un- 
happily the father fell a second time to the 
ground. A generous contest was now com- 
menced between the father and son, which of 
them should be resigned to the mercy of the 
enemy. The youth urgently pressed his father 
to take his horse, to leave him to his fate, and 
to seize the present moment of providing for 
his own safety. The father obstinately refused ; 
commanded his son to fly, and was quickly made 
prisoner. 

How much is it to be regretted that a charac- 
ter whose principal constituent is warmth and 

d 2 



36 OBSERVATIONS 

tenderness of heart, should not be placed in cir- 
cumstances more favourable to its happy for- 
mation, more conducive to virtue and happi- 
ness ! It has seldom had the best opportunity 
for unfolding to advantage the fine qualities of 
which it is essentially composed ; it has often 
been misrepresented, and abused, and persecu- 
ted. It cannot, therefore, be deemed surpris- 
ing that it has many defects, which time, and 
education, and kind treatment, will remove. 

In this short sketch of the character of an 
Irishman, I cannot omit fidelity to friends as a 
component part. It is the more necessary to 
make this remark, since this quality has some- 
times been denied him. It has been said, »hat 
he is cruel and deceitful to a singular degree ; 
that it is never safe to place any confidence in 
him, since he will always betray his friend, to 
purchase a small advantage to himself. In sup- 
port of the first part of this charge, viz. his cruel- 
ty, we are referred to the religious and bloody 
wars of former times, and to the shocking mur- 
ders and robberies committed in the present day. 
Now, it should be recollected, that religious 
wars are always cruel ; it is to the disgrace of 
human nature that they have ever existed ; and 
as this species of war is really repugnant to rea- 
son and common sense, the mind of man seems 
incapable of waging it without injustice and 



ON IRELAND. 37 

oruelty. Besides, a people of ardent feeling, 
of strong prepossession and attachment, when 
very ignorant, and at the disposal of priests 
equally ignorant, but more designing, will be 
guilty of many atrocities which can never be 
considered as characteristic of their nature. 
With this consideration in view, the Irish in 
carrying on their religious wars, will be found, 
after candid examination, not to have been 
worse than their neighbours ; especially when 
we advert to their many provocations. As to 
the more recent murders, they only prove that 
there is a larger share of . public vice, arising 
from political and moral causes in their country 
than in ours ; and this no one can deny. 

But, it is also said, that the Irish are 
deceitful ; that notwithstanding all their 
promises, they will betray a friend to serve 
themselves ; and this is held forth as the 
general character of that people* No opinion 
can be more contrary to truth. Let them only 
be convinced, that you are their friend, and 
•they will never forsake you ; they will do their 
utmost to serve you. Were it necessary, I 
could refer to many instances in support of this 
assertion. 

The truth is, the people of Ireland, (I mean 
the aborigines,) have for many centuries been 
•placed in peculiar circumstances : they have 



3S OBSERVATIONS 

been often deceived, often insulted, and often 
ridiculed. It was natural for them, therefore, 
to be rather jealous, not to be too ready to 
place confidence in strangers ; and perhaps, 
occasionally to devise schemes of retaliation. 
But they have always been sufficiently faithful 
and steady when confidence has been reposed in 
them ; and they have been singularly kind, and 
warm-hearted, and faithful, to any one whom 
they had reason to consider as their friend. For 
my own part, I have travelled through the 
greatest part of Ulster,Munster, and Connaught, 
often in the most retired vallies, and surround- 
ed by people who had not one word of Eng- 
lish ; when I spoke to them in their own lan- 
guage, they received me with a frankness and 
hospitality, which assured me of their good 
will, and removed all doubts as to personal 
safety. How ardently did I then wish that it 
were in my power to remove the prejudices 
that have been entertained against a people so 
kind and simple hearted! 

From fidelity to friends, the transition is 
easy to hospitality. The hospitality of the 
Irish, like that of the Scottish highlanders, is 
proverbial ; and never surely has a stranger visit- 
ed the neighbor rtqfcg isle, without having had 
satisfactory proofs of it. The poor labourer, 
who has only potatoes for himself arid his chil- 

7 



ON IRELAND. 39 

dren, will give the best in his pot to the guest, 
from whatever quarter he may come : he be- 
stows his simple fare w r ith a kindness that has 
often delighted me. Unlike the peasants of some 
other countries, who frown at the wandering 
intruder, he seems to feel a real pleasure in 
giving food to the hungry ; he gives the hearty 
welcome of his country to all who approach his 
humble cot, — ceud mile failte duit* At first I 
thought that this might be the form of saluta- 
tion, on extraordinary occasions ; but when I 
found that man, woman, and child, shouted 
ceud mile failte duit, to every visitant, and even 
to every beggar, I felt rather astonished. 

The rites of hospitality among the Irish, as 
among all the Celtic tribes, as well as among 
all ancient nations, are"" deemed sacred. The 
stranger is treated on all occasions with the 
utmost attention and respect, with a courtesy 
and politeness which more elevated society con- 
sider as belonging exclusively to themselves. 
And I must remark, that even the lower order 
of the original Irish, especially in sequestered 
situations, are much more distinguished for 
their attention to strangers than the same order 
of the Anglo-Hibernians, Among the former, 
the disposition to oblige, becomes rather offi- 
cious ; when I asked for the road in their own 

* A hundred thousand welcomes. 



40 OBSERVATIONS 

language, I was escorted perhaps for a mile or 
two, lest I should go astray ; when I made any 
inquiry of the latter, if any answer was given, 
it was sometimes ambiguous, and often not 
very respectful ; I was the more struck with this 
circumstance, as I have never heard it men- 
tioned by any traveller. 

It was deemed infamous among this people, 
either for the host or the guest to give any in- 
formation to an enemy of one another. The 
mutual participation of the feast was by them 
deemed as the pledge of friendship and of ho- 
nour : so sacred was this tie considered, that 
when two gallant youths, of the house of Tir- 
connel, entered as spies into the hostile camp 
of a neighbouring chief, and w T ere invited by 
the guards to share their supper, they cour- 
teously declined. " To accept this invitation, 
** was to form a friendship with these men not 
" to be violated ; which should prevent them 
" from giving any intelligence, or, if discovered, 
" would have rendered their intelligence sus- 
* 4 pected." 

Before concluding this chapter, I must ad- 
vert to that susceptibility of gratitude and resent- 
ment, so observable in the Irish. They are 
rather prone to extremes in their prepossessions, 
or their antipathies, their love or their hatred. 
They have no idea of the heartless neutrality of 



ON IRELAND.' 41 

indiflerence, of the frigid torpor of insensibility ; 
and it is with difficulty, they can maintain that 
equanimity of mind, which accords with the 
happy medium of moderation. They are ar- 
dent and high spirited ; and though not so proud 
as Highlanders, they have got all their impetuo- 
sity. No people in the world can be made 
better friends, and it is not easy to conceive of 
worse enemies. They have got some vanity, 
and they may be flattered ; they possess warm 
affections, and they may very easily be secured ; 
but they have a degree of resentment that will 
not suffer them with impunity to be injured 
or insulted. This character appears to me ex- 
tremely valuable, since it may be turned to the 
best account : little can be done in improving 
a people dull and stupid ; but much may be 
accomplished with those who are alive to every 
impression, who are acute, and generous, and 
ardent. 

After all, the character which I have been 
delineating must be allowed to have many faults. 
These, however, should, I think, be ascribed 
to the moral and political circumstances in 
which the Irish have been placed. The con- 
stituent parts of this character are certainly 
good ; and if under proper direction, would 
undoubtedly produce the happiest results. That 
blundering precipitancy which is always con- 



49 OBSERVATIONS 

nected with it, does not appear to me to be 

originally a component part. The same habit 

of making what has been called bulls, has been 

attributed to the Highlanders, though in a less 

degree. And it is certain, that owing to the 

dry humour which many of them possess, and 

their ignorance of the English tongue, they do 

commit blunders of the most ludicrous nature. 

The old Irish possess to a much greater extent 

the same vein of humour, and are equally 

awkward in speaking the imported dialect. 

They would naturally, therefore, fall into many 

blunders, and the habit when once formed so 

as to become national, was likely enough to be 

continued. I was confirmed in this opinion 

when I found, that a native Irishman commits 

no more blunders than his neighbours, when 

he speaks in the language which he perfectly 

understands. His humour, however, in any 

language, is always inexhaustible, and his 

" blunders are never blunders of the heart." 

The Irish is so very idiomatic, and possesses so 
little in common with the other languages of 
modern Europe, except the Celtic, and at the 
same time so very figurative, that it is difficult 
for any one who thinks in it not to make bulls. 
It is partly on tftis account that an unlettered 
Irishman speaks in glowing and metaphorical 
dicrion. It is impossible for him to separate 



ON IRELAND. 43 

the language of his early years from his habits of 
thinking ; he, therefore, very naturally accommo- 
dates the acquired tongue to the idiomatic con- 
struction and phraseology of his own, and 
imperceptibly enriches it with all the tropes and 
figures with which his mind is familiar. Be- 
sides, as has been already remarked, the Irish 
have an ardour of mind, and an impetuosity, 
which hurry them along, and produce that 
confusion of ideas in which bulls chiefly con- 
sist. " The propensity to this species of blun- 
" der exists in minds, who are quick and enthusi- 
" astic, who are confounded by the rapidity and 
iC force with which undisciplined multitudes of 
" ideas crowd for utterance. Persons of such in- 
" tellectual characters are apt to make elisions in 
" speaking, which they trust the capacities of 
" their audience will supply: passing rapidly 
" over a long chain of thought, they sometimes 
" forget the intermediate links, and no one but 
" those of equally rapid habits can follow them 
" successfully."* 

This, by the way, is remarkably characteris- 
tic of men of original minds. On all the sub- 
jects to which they direct their attention, they 
will be apt, unless much on their guard, to 
leave chasms in their reasonings, which, as they 
think, every reader can supply for himself. 

* JEdgeworth on Irish Bulls, p. 128. 



41 OBSERVATIONS 

Such persons feel a propensity to leap from the 
premises to the conclusion, without putting the 
intermediate ideas in words : it is not that these 
ideas do not really present themselves, but 
they pass through the mind with so much velo- 
city, and appear so simple and obvious, that 
this detailed process seems unnecessary. 
" These are gigantic and stupendous intelligen- 
" ces, who grasp a subject by intuition, and 
" bound forward from one series of conclusions 
" to another^ without regular steps through 
" intermediate propositions." It is to this 
power of perceiving at a glance all the bearings 
of a subject, without the labour and time 
which are required to ordinary minds, that 
originality of genius is to be ascribed. But to 
return from this digression. — 

It may very naturally be asked, if the habit 
of making bulls is in whole or in part to be attri- 
buted to the idiomatic and figurative construc- 
tion and phraseology of the Irish language, and 
to enthusiasm and impetuosity, how comes it 
to pass that those in Ireland who are altogether 
unacquainted with that tongue, should be guil- 
ty of the same blunders ; and that the High- 
landers and the Welsh, who speak dialects of 
that language, and w T ho will certainly yield to 
few in ardour of feeling, and precipitancy of 
ideas, have never been accused of that species 
9 



ON IRELAND. 45 

of blundering, which is now associated with the 
nation and character of their Celtic brethren ? 
Though it be difficult to give a satisfactory an- 
swer to this question, the following remarks 
may not be altogether inapplicable. 

First, the Anglo-Hibernians have much of 
the enthusiasm and humour of the native Irish, 
and indeed, it appears to me, that by intermar- 
riages, they are a good deal incorporated with 
each other, though political and religious 
causes have increased rather than diminished 
their original animosity. 

Secondly, it is certain, that a people when 
accused of any error are more likely to fall into 
that error, than if the case had been otherwise. 
The Irish as a nation are accused of making 
bulls ; and though a colony of English should 
settle there in the present day, their descend- 
ants would naturally be associated with the Hi- 
bernian blunderers, and whether guilty. or not, 
would be charged with the habit or failing of 
that humorous race. The truth is, all nations 
commit blunders ; the English, the Highland, 
and the Welsh, though not all to the same ex- 
tent, and a very little additional incongruity of 
idea would convert them into bulls. What is it 
then that produces this incongruity of ideas? 
I answer, 

Thirdly, an excess of fancy and humour. It 



46 OBSERVATIONS 

is to this last quality, which is possessed to aw 
unequalled degree, that we are indebted for all 
the amusement which thegoocl-natured Irishman 
affords. While, therefore, the Highland-man and 
the Welsh are possessed of the language of Ire- 
land, they generally want that excessive fund of 
humour which induces the poor Hibernian to 
indulge in the utmost merriment and hilarity. 
" By what their good humour is produced, we 
" know not ; but that it exists, we are certain. 
" In Ireland, the countenance and heart expand 
" at the approach of wit and humour ; the 
46 poorest labourer forgets his poverty and toil 
46 in the pleasure of enjoying a joke. Amongst 
" all classes of the people, provided no malice 
" is obviously meant, none is apprehended/** 

It cannot be supposed, that I should say any 
thing of the intrepidity and courage of the Irish. 
This has never been called in question. At this 
moment they compose a great proportion of our 
army and navy : and they justly share the glory 
that has covered our bold and peerless coun- 
trymen. 

Such is a general outline of the character of 
our fellow subjects in the neighbouring isle : a 
character which though surrounded with some 
blemishes, will rise into higher beauty and per- 
fection, when its calumniators have no longer 

* Edgworth, p. 258. 



ON IRELAND. 47 

the power to do harm : — which, when it is 
brightened from the dark shades, and has acqui- 
red that animating lustre to which nature has 
destined it, will command a much larger share 
of love and veneration than it has yet obtained. 
As it is, to give it all the interest to which it 
has every claim, another pen than mine must 
describe it. All at which I aim is only to re- 
move prejudice, to correct misrepresentation, 
and to direct the public attention to a subject 
which at any time it may not be unpleasing to 
study, but the consideration of which at pre- 
sent it may be criminal to neglect. 



4S OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. Ill, 



THE CHARACTER OF THE IRISH CONTINUED— RE- 
MARKS ON THE POETRY AND MUSIC OF THE 
IRISH— ON THEIR BARDS, SENACHIES, AND 
HARPERS. 



I HE subject of this and the following chap- 
ter, I once intended to have treated at much 
greater length ; I shall only at present, how- 
ever, make such remarks as may seem neces- 
sary to illustrate the character and genius of 
the Irish, and as may tend still more evidently 
to identify that people with the Highlanders. 

To shew from the customs, manners, super- 
stitions, and language, a similarity of origin be- 
tween these two nations,must at least be amus- 
ing. But though this may be a subordinate 
consideration, it is not my chief object. If it 
can be shewn that the Highlanders and the 
Irish are one people ; that their ancient man- 
ner, their poetry, music, and superstition, are 
nearly alike, then it may be asked, what are 
those circumstances which have formed the 



OK IRELAND. 49 

character of the one with so much heroic ele- 
vation, so amiable, and so useful, while that of 
the other has been prevented from arriving at 
the same moral attainment, from rising to the 
same popularity and distinction. The Irish- 
man, as well as the Highlander, possesses, with 
some limitations, " the generous and chival- 
" rous spirit, the self-subdued mind, the warm 
" affection to his family — the fond attachmentto 
" his clan — the love of story and of song — the 
" contempt of danger and of luxury — the mystic 
"superstition equally awful and tender/" Some 
of these qualities, perhaps, he possesses in an 
inferior degree : still it must be allowed that his 
mind is equally susceptible, and tender, and 
generous, and he only requires to be placed in 
circumstances favourable to moral improvement 
in order to exhibit the same lovely picture, of 
simplicity and innocence, of affection and fide- 
lity, that may be seen in the glens and recesses 
of the north. 

Campion, with all the prejudices of an Eng- 
lishman of the sixteenth century, confirms this 
view of the Irish character, if, indeed, any con- 
firmation be necessary, on a point so obvious 
though not generallyunderstood."Thepeople are 
" thus inclined : religious, frank, amorous, ire- 
" ful, sufferable of pains infinite, very glorious, 
" delighted with wars,great alms givers,passing 

E 



50 OBSERVATIONS 

" in hospitality. The same being virtuously 
" bred up or reformed, are such mirrors of hofi- 
" ness and austerity, that other nations retain 
tc but a shadow or shew of devotion in compa- 
54 rison of them."* 

The same author mentions a circumstance re- 
specting the extreme and even brutish ignorance 
of the Irish, which, I am persuaded, when pro- 
perly explained will support no such conclu- 
sion. For, though it is admitted, that they 
are ignorant on moral and religious subjects, 
I am unwilling to allow that they have been 
at any time so ignorant, as not to know the 
guilt of homicide. They, indeed, as well as 
the Highlanders, deemed it lawful to take the 
life of any connected with another clan or sept 
in open combat ; and all nations engaged in war, 
entertain similar sentiments ; but the assassin 
seems always to have been viewed by them 
with abhorrence. 

" I found a fragment of an epistle (says Cam- 
"pion) wherein a virtuous monk declareth that 
" to him, travelling in Ulster, came a grave gen- 
" tleman about Easter, desirous to be confessed 
" andhowseled,whoin all his lifetime had never 
u yet. received the blessed sacrament. When he 
u had said his mind, the priest demanded him 

* Campion's History of Ireland, p. 19, 



OS IRELAND. ,51 

"whether he were faultless in the sin of homicide? 
;i He answered that he never wist the matter to 
" be heinous before,but being instructed thereof, 
- : he confessed the murder of five, the rest he 
11 left wounded, so as he knew not whether they 
' ; lived or no. Then was he taught that both 
i; the one and the other was execrable, and 
" very meekly humbled himself to repent- 
4: ance." I mention this anecdote, because 
it seems to accord with the opinions which 
for a long time have prevailed respecting the 
native Irish ; and because a stranger to the 
Celtic tribes will be disposed to draw a con- 
clusion from it unfavourable to the character of 
that people, which the circumstances to which 
it refers will by no means support. 

It is well known that no people in the world 
were more averse to homicide than the High- 
landers. Even the professed thieves of the 
mountains, were degraded in their own estima- 
tion, and shunned by their fellow plunderers, if 
they killed a human being otherwise than in fair 
combat : though the Highlanders, it must be 
confessed, in certain cases, if commissioned by 
their chief blindly executed vengeance in secret 
on the sons of the strangers ; not, indeed, when 
they came as guests, but when they were known 
to be the avowed enemies of their country or 
their clan. Such instances, however, were ex- 
e2 



jg OBSERVATIONS 

tremely rare ; since it was always deemed dis- 
graceful to the warrior, not to command his 
enemy to " draw and defend his life." 

Similar sentiments prevailed on this subject 
in Ireland. Indeed, we cannot suppose that 
a people whose nature is characterised by a 
tender enthusiasm, by warm and social affec- 
tions, and who like " the men of Athens are in 
" all things too superstitious/'* should be that 
blood-thirsty race, at least originally, which they 
have been represented. The virtues of im- 
pulse, for which they are distinguished when 
not fully under the controul of reason, may 
often terminate in ungovernable ferocity ; this 
unhappy result must always be accidental, and 
can never be the effect of settled principle. 

But though I thus maintain that the Irish 
character is equally warm and benevolent with 
the Highland, and, 'like it, that it possesses 
the elements of all that is endearing or sub- 
lime in human nature, yet, the moral texture* 
of the former, it must be acknowledged, 
has, by certain circumstances, been differently 
modified from the latter. To some of these I 
have already alluded ; it may not be here im- 
proper to take a more enlarged and connected 
view of this subject. Perhaps there is not a 

* That is, much given to devotion* 



ON IRELAND. 53 

more amusing, and there scarcely can be a 
more useful speculation, than that of tracing 
the causes which have occasioned in a people 
originally the same, possessing the same genius, 
and language, and customs, and superstitions, 
any difference of moral complexion. Such an 
investigation has, at least, the tendency of shew- 
ing us the vast influence which popular opi- 
nions and accidental circumstances exert in 
the formation of character. 

In the first place, I remark, that the end- 
less divisions and feuds, occasioned by the 
Brehon law of Tanistry,* operated most un- 
favourably on the Irish character. It is true, 
there were divisions and animosities among 
the Highland clans, but they were of a very 
different description. While they waged war 
against their enemies, their affection to their 
chief, who was " the first in their battles and 
" the wisest in their councils/' and to that large 
family of which he was the head, was by this 
circumstance increased rather than diminished. 
There is not perhaps an instance on record in 
which a clan was divided against itself, and in 
which the claims of aspiring rivals produced a 
disunion in the tribe to which they belonged. 
They loved one another therefore in tensely 

* See the chapter on the progress of English law,<&c. and 
also note A. 



54; OBSERVATIONS 

not merely because their hearts were warm, 
but because their affections were circum- 
scribed by barriers, stable as the mountains 
with which they were surrounded. 

The reverse of this was the case in Ireland : 
according to the custom to which I have allu- 
ded, a chief was succeeded in his authority and 
in his estate by the person who was deemed 
best qualified for discharging his duty, of the 
sept of which he was head, whether he were a 
son, or an uncle, or a cousin, or only connected 
by those ordinary ties of kindred which united 
all the members of the clan. This practice 
evidently had its origin in times of great tur- 
bulence, when it was of the first importance 
for the clan to have a leader in whose wisdom 
and courage they might place the utmost con- 
fidence. It was attended, however, with the 
most unhappy effects ; it divided a clan into 
parties ; each division had recourse to arms 
to support its favourite chief; both contended 
with the implacable rancour and ferocity which 
iseem inseparable from civil war ; and the 
moral character was finally injured by the 
circumstances of aggravation which accompa- 
nied the combat. The people were thus ac- 
customed irbt merely to witness scenes of car- 
nage and of blood, but to mingle in such 
scenes when their brethren and their friends 



ON IRELAND. 55 

were the sufferers, and, consequently, to have 
the finer susceptibilities of their nature per- 
verted or destroyed. 

Every one knows the deleterious influence 
which civil war exerts on national character. 
In some instances, indeed, the atrocities com- 
mitted in such circumstances are the effect of 
a previous state of barbarism and gross depra- 
vity in the multitude ; but in every case, they 
tend to weaken the moral feelings, and to 
deaden the virtuous emotions of the heart. In 
Ireland, the clans not only contended with one 
another and with the English, or as they call 
them the Gall,* but almost as often as there 
was a new chief every clan was divided against 
itself. This was a civil war in its worst form. 
To expect that in such circumstances the people 
should retain their original purity and moral 
loveliness, were to look for an impossibility. 

In the second place ; there has been a much 
closer connection, during the last two or three 
centuries, at least, between* the higher and 
lower orders in the Highlands than in Ireland. 
In the former country, the hall of the chieftain 
was ever open to receive his clan ; they appear- 
ed before their lord, not with the spirit of ser- 
vility, but with that of unsuspecting confi- 

* That is, strangers. 



56 . OBSERVATIONS 

dence, of mingled attachment and veneration : 
they heard the same bards recite the praises 
of departed heroes ; the same mournful and 
inspiring melody ; and they were accustomed 
to think, that their fame also would produce 
the same glorious emulation in the sons of 
future times. Their manners were polished, 
and the tone of their moral feeling elevated 
and improved, by their frequent and endearing 
intercourse with the only person in the world 
whose authority to them was paramount, and 
whose wealth, and rank, and military prowess 
were thought to confer distinction on the mean- 
est of the clan. It is impossible that people 
placed in such circumstances, and feeling the 
influence of such sentiments, should not* have 
arrived at a superior degree of moral attain- 
ment, should not have been impelled by a 
nobie enthusiasm to the exercise of every 
manly virtue, to heroism, and glory. 

Besides, it should be recollected, that this 
state of things was very general in the High- 
lands so late as the year 1745 r so that the 
inhabitants have not only had the advan- 
tage of their original circumstances till this 
recent period, but have had aiso the important 
privilege of receiving religious instruction in 
their own language. Thus, when the period 



ON IRELAND. 57 

arrived in which the race of the bards became 
extinct, in which the chieftains were to relin- 
quish their patriarchal and peculiar character, 
and to assume that which is common to the 
possessors of equal rank and fortune through- 
out the empire ; in which the dark, and 
melancholy, and sublime superstitions of the 
mountains, was to be confined within narrower 
limits, and to have its influeuce on the imagina- 
tion and the heart diminished, the mild and 
purifying religion of the gospel shone with a 
brighter lustre, and the knowledge of the cross 
afforded a principle to excite and perpetuate 
the noble and moral enthusiasm of the High- 
land mind. 

It is almost unnecessary to say how different 
from all this was the case in Ireland. In that 
country the number of the native chieftains, in 
consequence of the endless hostilities in which 
the English involved them, was, during some 
centuries, gradually diminishing ; various re- 
bellions furnished the occasion of immense for- 
feitures ; and the fatal ambition of Tyrone, and 
the civil wars of Cromwell, nearly completed 
their total extirpation. Most of the Irish clans 
were now as sheep without a shepherd. The 
halls in which they were accustomed to assem- 
ble, in which they had heard the music of the 



58 OBSERVATIONS 

harp, and the song of the bards, and which once 
contained the object of their delightand venera- 
tion, was now r in the possession of strangers ; — 
of strangers, whose language, and customs, and 
prejudices, were different from their own, and 
to whom they entertained an avowed dislike. 
Every morning that the Irishman opened his 
eyes on the castle of his chief, his feelings of 
regret for its departed glory, for the loss of his 
protector and friend were renewed, and he 
mourned in secret the conquest of his country, 
and the ruin of his people. Even the bards, 
most of whose patrons were now disinherited, 
or in exile, heightened by their mournful and 
desponding strains, theanguishofhis woe, while 
they recalled to his recollections the tender and 
moving associations of other years, and sung 
the melting melody of " Erin gu bra."* The 
excess of his grief, and the sensibility of his 
nature, only tended to increase his aversion 
to a power whose authority in Ireland he con- 
ceived was usurped, and whose coercive mea- 
sures towards his chieftain and his clan seemed 
the most galling oppression. He could feel 

* This favourite Irish air is very old. It is often sung in 
Connaught by natives who have no English. It has the 
same effect on their feeliugs that Mac Gregor O'Ruara, or 
Lochaber no-more has, on a Highlander. See note B, 



ON IRELAND, 59 

no attachment, therefore, to the English adven- 
turer who had taken possession of the lands from 
which his lord had been expelled ;*on the other 
hand, he must have cherished a disposition to 
injure his person and acquired property, and to 
frustrate, by every possible means, even at the 
expence of his own virtue, the happiness of 
the intruder. 

The feelings of hatred and contempt which 
the new proprietors entertained towards the 
native Irish were equally strong. They con- 
sidered them not merely as a wild and 
savage race, to whose bards, and music, 
and manners, and customs, they expressed 
the utmost aversion, but as a conquered 
people, over whom the fortunes of wjar had given 
the English nation an absolute power.* In 
such circumstances it was not possible that 
either the Anglo-Hibernian or the native 
Irishman should be much improved: tbey 
mutually disliked and suspected one another. 
The latter, from principle, became often faith- 
less to a foreigner, by whom he was treated, 
not with the generous frankness of his for- 
mer lord, but with insolence and contempt • 
and those qualities of deceit and infidelity 
which arose out of the circumstance in which 

* Spencer's View of Ireland. 



60 OBSERVATIONS 

he was placed, have been afterwards by stran- 
gers considered as forming a part of his natu- 
ral character. The influence of this unfavour- 
able situation, and of the sentiments of sus- 
picion, and hatred, and revenge, to which it 
gave rise, operating for ages, must necessarily 
have been extremely injurious to the moral 
feelings. This consideration of itself seems 
sufficient to account for that perceptible dif- 
ference between the moral complexion of the 
Highlanders and the Irish. 

It is unnecessary to say, that the inferior 
orders have a tendency to descend in the scale 
of intellectual and moral beings, when all 
friendly intercourse with their superiors has 
ceased. It is difficult if not impossible after- 
wards to attain any great elevation of senti- 
ment, or polish of manners. If this remark 
holds true in all ordinary cases, it is especially 
so in situations where the multitude are viewed 
by their superiors in the light of a conquered 
people, and treated accordingly with the scorn- 
ful indignity of illiberal prejudice. If they 
are considered as degraded by those whom 
they are sufficiently prone to respect, unless 
irritated and oppressed, it is very probable that 
they will imperceptibly think of themselves 
in a somewhat similar light. And when this 
unhappy result takes place, it is superfluous 



ON IRELAND. 6! 

to say, that the influence of even such a con- 
ception must have a debasing tendency on 
the whoie character : For, 

Jove rix'd it certain, that whatever day- 
Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.* 

These observations, together with those which 
have been elsewhere made, will account for that 
prejudice which the native Irish entertain to- 
wards the English character. I am fully aware 
that this is a delicate subject, and am anxious, 
therefore, to treat it with ail possible tender- 
ness. The fact, however, is certain : and no one 
can enter into the cabin of an Irishman, and 
converse with him familiarly in his own lan- 
guage, without perceiving his strong dislike to 
the persons and religion of the GalL\ Here- 
members that his countrv has been invaded, 
and conceives that the chiefs of his people have 

* Odyss. xvii. 

f It is singular that Scotchmen are never distinguished 
by this appellation. The Irish call them Albanaich. On 
entering a cabin the first salutation was " Ceudmile failte 
duit;" that is, a hundred thousand welcomes. After this 
the first question proposed was " Cia as duit ?" That is, 
where do you come from. Of course my answer was," as Al- 
buiim;" from Albion or Scotland. This information re- 
specting my country seemed, except in one or two instances, 
to prepossess the natives in my favor rather than otherwise, 



69 OBSERVATIONS 

been oppressed and extirpated by the 
English. He still points to the ruins of a 
castle which was once the habitation of his 
own prince of the Milesian race, — a prince to 
whom he himself is nearly allied, and with a 
sigh recounts the years that have passed since 
its walls were demolished by the hands of 
strangers. 

In mentioning this circumstance, I am far, 
indeed, from wishing to excite prejudice against 
a people possessing so many amiable and inte- 
resting qualities. My object is to shew, that 
they have been treated in a way, not to concili- 
ate their affections, not to flatter their national 
prejudices, but in a manner calculated rather to 
excite their antipathy , and to perpetuate the recol- 
lection of former grievances. No people can long 
retain a dislike to a government by which they 
are regarded with confidence. To place no 
trust in a people, is often an effectual way to 
make them unworthy of trust. And when the 
Irish find that they are no longer aliens in the 
land of their fathers, they will be amongst the 
most faithful subjects in the British empire. 

It may be objected to the truth of these re- 
marks, that the native Irish, during two rebel- 
lions in Scotland, continued firm in their alle- 
giance to their sovereign ; and that in the rebel- 
lion of 1798, they were among the best subjects 

2 



ON IRELAND. 6S 

in Ireland. These facts certainly prove the 
excellency of their dispositions, and their 
unwillingness to resist or overturn the esta- 
blished government. I am far from wishing to 
insinuate any thing to the contrary of this. 
But it is surely very possible for a people to 
refrain from open hostilities against the govern- 
ment of their country, nay, to abhor the idea 
of forcibly opposing its measures, and, at the 
same time, to feel rather cold in its support. 
These historical facts, so honourable to the 
Irish character, sufficiently demonstrate, what 
all will readily admit, that it is very possible 
to make the Irish people become the best of all 
subjects ; while they also shew that the catho- 
lics of Ireland, who, as some suppose, should 
never be trusted, may be managed with the 
greatest facility, and may be rendered firm 
friends to the British constitution. 

In the third place, the example of the Eng- 
lish, during several centuries, had a tendency 
to corrupt and debase the character of the Irish. 
The Highlanders had no other example to imitate 
than that of their chieftain, and the dependents 
who formed his court ; unless, indeed, we 
refer to those bright patterns of glorious hero- 
ism which the songs of the bards continually 
impressed on their mind.* Surrounded by the 

* See a subsequent part of this chapter. 



64 OBSERVATIONS 

bulwarks of their native hills, they lived in 
careless independence, and scarcely ever saw 
Clann nan Gall,* whom they despised, except 
when they descended from them for the richer 
booty of the plains. 

The condition of the Irish was very different. 
They, since the period in which their country 
was first invaded by the English, became sub- 
ject to the perpetual annoyance of enemies, by 
whom they were viewed as an inferior order of 
beings, and by whom, therefore, they were 
treated with injustice -and cruelty. They soon 
learned to exercise the same ferocity on a peo- 
ple by whom they were slain with impunity, at 
least, who paid a very inconsiderable fine as the 
price of their life. They adopted a mode of rea- 
soning certainly not illogical, and which seems 
to have been followed by most other nations in 
their circumstances. They were oppressed and 
plundered by a band of adventurers, who ren- 
dered their superiority in military skill only sub- 
servient to the destruction of an inoffending peo- 
ple ; they naturally concluded, therefore, that 
every means by which they could extirpate such 
tyrants, or by which they could inflict that 
justice which their crimes had merited, and 
for which the English laws made no provision^ 

* The sons of the Strangers, 
ji See a subsequent chapter. 



ON IRELAND. 65 

was not only lawful, but highly patriotic and 
expedient. Hence their judgment and feelings 
were in some degree perverted; hence the 
shocking: atrocities and violations of solemn 
engagements with which, towards their ene- 
mies, they have been chargeable ; and hence 
the ferocity which their character must neces- 
sarily have assumed, from the perpetual scenes 
of carnage and of blood, of murder and of per- 
fidy, in which they were involved. 

Whatever may have been the character of the 
Irish previous to the conquest of Ireland by 
Henry II. it is very probable, that it was simi- 
lar to that of the Highlander of the same period. 
As to the moral changes that have taken place 
since, the English must bear no inconsiderable 
share of the blame. For allowing that the 
colony of that nation which settled in Ireland, 
were more civilized than the natives of the 
country of which they took possession, still, 
the animosities which they awakened, and the 
examples of cruelty, rapaciousness, and un- 
principled ambition which their conduct exhi- 
bited, had a tendency to extinguish even those 
virtues, to which, in most situations, the sa- 
vage and barbarian may fairly lay claim. Indeed, 
civilization, as the term is usually employed, 
has often, by its vices, and the superior power 
which it affords, of doing evil as well as doing 

F 



66 OBSERVATIONS 

good, rendered barbarians still more barbarous*, 
and the inhabitants of the wilderness and the 
wood still more savage and degraded. In the 
present case, whatever may be thought of the 
comparative civilization either of the English 
or the Irish, at the period to which I refer ; no 
doubt can be entertained of the pernicious 
effects which their mutual hostilities, and 
massacres, continued for so long a time, pro- 
duced on their moral character. 

These effects, for very obvious reasons, have 
been more permanent in their operation, among 
the native Irish, than on the Anglo-Hibernians. 
The latter, by education, by the progress of 
knowledge and civilization, and by their ac- 
quaintance with the language of Britain, have, 
of course, largely participated in that advanc- 
ing improvement and moral elevation by which 
Britain is distinguished ; while the former have 
laboured under many disadvantages, have been 
secluded by their language, their antipathies, 
and their religion, from the benign influence 
of the same salutary circumstances, and have 
been prevented by the singularly unfortunate 
peculiarities of their situation from relinquish- 
ing those parts of their character that are merely 
adventitious, and from fully developing those 
more amiable features that are truly natural. 
In the fourth place, the national poetry of 



ON IRELAND. 6? 

the Irish, about three centuries ago, seems to 
have undergone a considerable change for the 
worse; which incident, though of itself it may 
appear trivial, becomes important when it is 
connected with other circumstances ; and 
especially when it is considered, that the na- 
tional poetry of the Celtic tribes had a vast 
influence on their habits of thinking and action. 
To those who are in general acquainted with 
the customs of these tribes, it is unnecessary 
to say, that the order of the bards was held by 
them in the highest veneration, — that it was 
liberally supported by every chieftain ; and that 
its influence, because it was intellectual, in 
many instances was superior to that of the chief 
himself. Their soft or sublime effusions, 
which powerfully touched the passions, while 
they made the heart of the fiercest warrior glow 
with emotonsof tenderness and love, or ani- 
mated and roused with resistless energy to the 
combat, were regarded not merely as the in- 
spirations of genius, but as the still loftier 
conceptions of beings whose minds were under 
the peculiar impulse of superior power. And 
who, indeed, in their situation, indulging the 
same enthusiasm, confined to the same pleas- 
ing but mournful images of the past, and dwell- 
ing on the same fair and beautiful visions of the 
future, while enjoying the delightful rapture, 

f2 



68 OBSERVATIONS 

the ethereal pleasure, which the combined 
power of music and poetry creates, could 
allow himself to think, that the song of the 
poet, which is not only the source of soft and 
dissolving joy, but of noble and heroic exertion, 
should not owe its origin to that invisible power, 
whose influence seemed to hallow and animate 
the mind of the bard ? 

The bard of fame, 
'Taught by the gods to please, when high he sings 
The vocal lay responsive to the strings. 

There is no country in which poetry and 
music were held in higher estimation, or culti- 
vated to a greater extent, than in Ireland. After 
ages had elapsed in hostilities with the Eng- 
lish, the same ardent love of song continued 
among the people of this country. 4i There is 
" among the Irish," says Spencer, " a certain 
" kind of people called bards, which are to 
" them instead of poets, whose profession is 
" to set forth the praises or dispraises of men 
" in their poems or rithmes ; the which are had in 
" so high regard and estimation amongst them, 
" that none dare displease them, for fear to run 
" into reproach through their offence, and to be 
'" made infamous in the mouths of all men. For 
" their verses are taken up with a general ap- 
" plause, and usually sung at all feasts and 
" meetings. I have caused divers of these poems 



ON IRELAND. 69 

" to be translated to me, that I might under- 
" stand them, and surely they savoured of 
;c sweet wit and good invention ; but skilled 
" not of the goodly ornaments of poetry : yet 
• were they sprinkled with some pretty flowers 
* of their natural device, which gave good 
u grace and comeliness unto them. 5 ' 

There can be no doubt, that the ancient poe- 
try of the Irish was similar in its general cha- 
racter to that of the Highlanders. The few 
fragments which remain possess the same pa- 
thos and sublimity of sentiment. But it must 
be acknowledged, that the number of such 
fragments is indeed small : not that the quantity 
of Irish poetry is scanty ; for of this com- 
modity there exists a very great abundance.* 
It is of the lofty and polished strains of poetry, 
that there is a scarcity, which may, no doubt, 
be accounted for in various ways, but chiefly 
by that important revolution which the circum- 
stances, and sentiments, and songs of the bards 
experienced in the twelfth, and especially in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Soon 
after the first of these periods, the taste for the 
marvellous prevailed : the chaste and beautiful 
tales of the times of old began to be interlarded 
with stories of giants, and saints, and miracles ; 

* See note B. 



70 OBSERVATIONS 

and the elegant simplicity which seems to have 
characterized the muse of earlier days, was 
greatly lost* amid the incoherence of extrava- 
gant fiction, Perhaps there may be some truth 
in Percy's remark as to the origin of this wretch- 
ed taste : " that after letters began to prevail, 
" and history assumed a more stable form, by 
" being committed to plain simple prose, the 
" songs of the scalds or bards began to be more 
" amusing than useful. And in proportion as it 
" became their business chiefly to entertain and 
" delight, they gave more and more into embel- 
46 lishment, and set off their recitals with such 
" marvellous fictions, as were calculated to 
" captivate gross and ignorant minds/'f 

This remark evidently implies that the only 
minds which the bards had in their power to 
captivate by their tuneful art were gross and 
ignorant. This general position as it regards 
some countries might be disputed ; but it is 
perfectly just as it respects Ireland subsequent 
to the sixteenth century. After this period, 
when the native chieftains were nearly extir- 
pated, the bards were obliged to accommodate 
their songs to the taste of the multitude, on 
whom they became dependent for subsist- 
ence. This very multitude daily became more 

* Walker's Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards. 
f Essay on Anc metric Romances. Reliques, v. 2» 



QN IRELAND. 71 

gross in their conceptions, in consequence of 
the circumstances to which I have already 
alluded ; and the taste of those poets, of 
whom they were the only patrons, must of 
course have been gradually debased. Be- 
sides, both poets and people, when they 
were deprived of their own native lords, and 
hated and persecuted by the English, were 
resigned into the government of priests, whose 
ignorance and intolerance, and total want of 
elevation of mind, or refinement of taste, con- 
summated that state of degradation into which 
they had already fallen. This circumstance 
ought to be particularly remarked, since it 
forms a new era in the history of the Irish 
nation. Kit did not occasion a total change 
in the genius of the national poetry, it complet- 
ed a change which had formerly been begun ; 
and in the progress of this revolution, it was im- 
possible that the feelings, and sentiments, and 
character of the people should have escaped 
the influence of deterioration. They were 
placed in a new climate, where the sky was 
cloudy, where the air was noxious, and where 
a constitution, which otherwise was good, be- 
came sickly. 

That nation must indeed be fallen, or it must 
have been always low in the scale of moral and in- 
tellectual attainment, in which a superstitious 



72 OBSERVATIONS 

priesthood bears the sole authority. While there 
is not a surer criterion of the degradation of hu- 
man nature, there certainly does not exist a more 
powerful barrier to its general improvement. 
And in place of saying with Dr. Adam Smith 
that a nation is poor in proportion as the 
church is rich, I should say, that it is poor in 
all the noble qualities of mind, in proportion 
as an ignorant and superstitious tribe of eccle- 
siastics have the interests and power of a nation 
under their controul. 

Yet such are the circumstances in which the 
native people and poets of Ireland were placed 
at the period to which I refer. The bards, 
whose genius in other times w r as consecrated 
to the ennobling task of celebrating the praises 
of heroes, of forming and elevating the virtues 
of the living by applauding those of the dead, 
having now scarcely any other patrons than 
the multitude and the priests, were employed 
in praising the power of the pope, the miracles 
and goodness of ambiguous saints, and the 
wonders of St. Patrick's Purgatory; subjects 
worthy of the debased taste of such wretched 
patrons. To this remark, there may, indeed, 
have been some glorious exceptions,who,though 
they partly conformed to the times in which 
they lived, often thought and composed as if 
their destiny had been placed in happier ages : 



ON IRELAND. 7S 

but the number of such minds was small, com- 
pared to the crowds, whose intellectual powers, 
superstition had impaired and degraded. If, 
then, national poetry has any influence on the 
formation of character, and that it has there can 
be no doubt, its power in the present instance 
could have no salutary tendency, at least, no 
very salutary tendency in a moral point of 
view. As it regarded the intellectual powers, 
though far inferior to the songs of other times, 
it was not useless. " Whatever/' says Dr. 
Johnson, " withdraws us from the power of 
" our senses ; whatever makes the past, the 
" distant, or the future, predominate over the 
" present, advances us in the dignity of think - 
" ing beings."* The poetry and sceuldachs 
of even those degenerate times had this happy 
effect ; and as has been shewn in the former 
chapter, they awakened the curiosity, and pre- 
served it from sinking into that total inactivity 
of mind which naturally results from the melan- 
choly stillness of despotism, and which, while 
it continues, renders amelioration, either in the 
savage of the wood,or in the vassal of the tyrant, 
hopeless. Viewed in this light, the quibbles 
of the schoolmen, and the trifling disputations 

* Johnson^ Tour to the Hebrides. 



74 OBSERVATIONS 

of a Thomas, and a Scotus, have not been with- 
out their use. 

But there is another circumstance, besides 
those already mentioned, which must have 
contributed to produce a change in the charac- 
ter of the national poetry, as well as those in- 
jurious effects which this change has occasion- 
ed. Under the reign of Elizabeth, laws were 
enacted against the order of the bards :* some 
of these it is thought fled to the Western Isles. 
Those that remained in their own country were 
of course still more indignant than their 
ancestors, against that government which made 
them the objects of persecution. And though 
the laws were not very strictly put in execu- 
tion, yet their very existence tended to kin- 
dle into madness, the hatred of men whose 
order had for centuries been inveterate in their 
hostility to the English. This aversion was 
expressed by invectives on the meanness, and 
cruelty, and avarice of the Gall; on the inglorious 
conduct of their countrvmen who had submit- 
ted to their enthralling yoke ; and by celebrat- 
ing the intrepidity and patriotism of those 
daring individuals, whose firm resistance to 
the power tjjat overwhelmed them, as well as 
the fatal necessity by which that resistance was 

* See note C. 



ON IRELAND. 75 

occasioned, seemed fully to sanction the san- 
guinary means by which this power was with- 
stood.* 

Hence we Can easily account for the view 
which Spencer gives of the pernicious influence 
of the bards in raising rebellion against the 
English government, and in extolling the valiant 
deeds of outlaws and robbers. " These Irish 
" bards are for the most part so far from in- 
" structing young men in moral discipline, that 
" they themselves do more deserve to be sharply 
" disciplined : for they seldom use to choose 
" unto themselves the doings of good men for 
" the arguments of their poems; but whomsoever 
" they found to be most licentious of life, most 

' bold and lawless in his doings, most dange- 
" rousand desperate in all parts of disobedience 
" and rebellious disposition : him they set up 
" and glorify in their rithms, him they praise 
" to the people, and to young men make an 
^ example to follow."— Thus " evil things 
" being decked and attired with the gay attire 
" of goodly words, may easily deceive and 

' carry away the affection of a young mind that 

c is not well stayed, but desirous by some bold 
" adventures, to make proof of himself. For 

* being (as they all be) broughtup idly,withou- 

* See note D. 



76 OBSERVATIONS 

4 awe of parents, without precepts of masters, 
4 and without fear of offence, not being directed 
4 nor employed in any course of life which 
4 may carry them to virtue ; will easily be 
4 drawn to follow such as any shall set before 
4 them; for a young mind cannot rest: if he 
4 be not still busied in some goodness, he will 
4 find him such business, as shall soon busy 
4 all about him. In which, if he shall find any 
4 to praise him, and to give encouragement as 
4 those bards and rithmers do for little reward, 
4 or a share of a stolen cow, then waxeth he 
4 most insolent and half mad with the love of 
4 himself, and his own lewd deeds. And 
4 as for words to set forth such lewdness, it 
4 is not hard for them to give a goodly and 
4 painted shew there unto, borrowed even from 
4 the praises which are proper to virtue itself: 
4 as of a most notorious thief and outlaw, 
4 which had lived all his life-time upon spoils 
4 and robberies, one of their bards in his praise 
4 will say, that he was not one of the idle 
4 milk-sops that was brought up by the fire- 
4 side ; and that most of his days he spent in 
1 arms and valiant enterprises : that he did 
4 never eat his meat, before he had won it 
4 with the sword : that he lay not all night 
4 slugging in a cabin under his mantle ; but 
4 used commonly to keep others waking to de- 



ON IRELAND. 77 

11 fend their lives ; and did light his candle at 
iw the flames of their houses, to lead him in the 
" darkness : that the day was his night, and 
" the night his day : that he loved not to be 
11 long wooing of wenches to yield to him ; but 
" where he came he took by force the spoils of 
" other men's love, and left but lamentation to 
44 their lovers : that his music was not the harp, 
" nor lays of love, but the cries of people and 
" clashing of armour : and finally, that he died, 
" not bewailed of many, but made many 
M wail when he died, that dearly bought his 
" death."* 

The persons whom Spencer here mentions as 
" desperate in all parts of disobedience and 
" rebellious disposition" were no doubt those 
who gloried in resisting the English govern- 
ment. It is highly probable, however,that in the 
progress of time the whole of his description 
may have been literally verified ; and that the 
mere disturbers of the peace, the banditti of the 
woods and mountains, assumed that praise which 
is the legitimate reward of patriotism and virtue. 
This is the more probable since the plunderers 
of every description, while they confined their at- 
tacks to the Gall, or Saxons, were rather popular 
than otherwise with their countrymen, and re- 

* Spencer's View of Ireland, 



75 OBSERVATIONS 

garded by the few poets, or rather rhymers, 
who outlived the storm, with feelings of plea- 
sure and admiration. It is easy to perceive the 
effect which such a state ef society would pro- 
duce on the general character and moral com- 
plexion of the people. Accustomed to obtain 
fame, from those in whose power it was to im- 
mortalize in song, for carrying spoil from their 
neighbours, and for burning the hamlets in which 
they dwelt,they would soon learn to consider the 
character ofa general robber as heroic and honour- 
able. Hence it happens that at the present day, 
the inferior orders of the Irish often amuse them- 
selves with the adventures of noted robbers, 
whom they admire as men of superior spirit, 
incapable of spending their lives in inglorious re- 
pose. All the inhabitants of the cabin may be 
seen anxiously listening to the tale of wonder ; 
and if human beings are fond of imitating what 
they have early admired, it is unnecessary to 
say, that such amusements may be attended 
with dangerous results. 

Such is a short sketch of the nature of that 
change which the poetry of Ireland has under- 
gone; of some of the causes by which this 
change has been produced ; and of the influence 
which the revolution may have had in the for- 
mation of national character. Let us now in- 
quire how far the modern history of Highland 



ON IRELAND. 79 

poetry and bards, corresponds with that which, 
has now been given. It will be found to differ 
in the most essential particulars. 

Till the year 1745, there was very little 
change in the customs or superstitions of the 
Highlanders. Before this period, few stran- 
gers ever settled among them. The chiefs, 
it is true, often made war on one another, but 
their families were scarcely ever extirpated. 
The bards were not, therefore, deprived of their 
patrons; nor was the beautiful poetry of their 
ancestors exchanged for the legendary tales of 
the saints : this continued to be recited with 
the enthusiam and effect of former ages. Be- 
sides, the inhabitants of the Highlands were 
never totally committed to the government of 
priests ; they yielded an unlimited obedience to 
their lords; and both their chieftains and them- 
selves were very much regulated in their taste 
and conduct, by the inspiring song of the bards. 
Happily the government of Scotland, though 
often opposed, was never considered by them 
as imposed or illegitimate. The lowlanders, 
indeed, they despised as a mean degenerate 
race, from whom they were ever ready to car- 
ry off booty ; but the kings who reigned over 
that people as well as themselves, so far as they 
knew any thing concerning them, they regarded 
as their countrvmen and friends. Their attach- 



80 OBSERVATIONS 

ment to~this race of princes, was evinced by 
the opposition which some of the chiefs made 
to the government of William, and was still 
more manifest in the year 1715 and 1745. 
This feeling of regard, which both priests and 
poets entertained in common with the people, 
deprived them at the same time of an opportu- 
nity of declaiming against the Scotish govern- 
ment, and of confirming the multitude in in- 
veterate hostility to its yoke, while it ultimate- 
ly facilitated the necessary change of transfer- 
ring their allegiance from the House of Stuart 
to that of Hanover. 

.But it is not only from the history of the 
Highlands, I infer that the general character of 
its poetry remained unchanged till a very recent 
period, and that the taste of its inhabitants con- 
tinued to derive advantage from its constant 
recitation ; the same conclusion may be drawn 
from the actual reliques of Gaelic poetry. It is 
true, indeed, there is a very considerable differ- 
ence between the ancient and modern composi- 
tions even in the Highlands : perhaps it may be 
said, that the one surpasses the other in all the 
higher and more exquisite beauties of poetry, 
nearly as much as Milton excels the less dis- 
tinguished of the English bards ; but there is 
one quality common to both, though not always 
in an equal degree ; their tendency to excite 



ON IRELAND. 81 

pure and tender emotions, to strengthen those 
associations that are favourable to individual 
and social virtue, and to give full effect to those 
feelings, so dear to the heart of a Highlander, 
that make 

The loud torrent, and the whirlwind's roar, 
But bind him to his native mountains more. 

Besides, in the Gaelic poetry there is scarcely 
ever, even in the most modern and inferior 
species of it, any allusion to witches, or saints, 
or giants, or miracles : there are, indeed, a few 
poemsof this description, but from their extreme 
similarity to modern Irish poetry, it is not dif- 
ficult to trace their origin. Many of the sgeul- 
dachs or tales abound in the marvellous; espe- 
cially in those parts of Argyleshire which are 
near Ireland. The bards sung of themes 
more suited to the taste of their patrons, of 
warriors and hapless lovers, of the bloody com- 
bat of contending clans, or the mournful des- 
tiny of the maid who mourns in secret the early 
fall of " the dweller of her secret soul." 

The very superstition of the Highlands, 
though dark and sublime, had the best moral 
tendency : it was the superstition, not of an 
illiberal and debasing fanaticism, but of a 
warm hearted and affectionate people, exercis- 
ing the kindest sympathies of human nature, 

G 



S2' x OBSERVATIONS 

while secluded by their mountains from the 
rest of mankind*. It was so closely associated 
with their poetry and tales, that the frequent 
recitation of these rendered it familiar to all 
their conceptions — All the moral advantages 
which this pleasing superstition and poetry 
combined were calculated to afford, have been 
fully enjoyed by the Highlanders till a very 
late period : the songs of other times, which 
the bards and heroes of other ages had heard and 
sung, and which must ever possess charms for 
the dullest ear, have been repeated with the 
fondest admiration, in the hall and in the cottage, 
not many years ago ; so that the effects, in the 
bold and intrepid spirit, in the urbanity of 
manners, and purity of character for which this 
people are distinguished, are still very mani- 
fest. Indeed, to listen to the recitation of such 
poetry with pleasure, is not only an exercise 
highly improving, but forms no inconsiderable 
proof of important improvement4iaving already 
been made ; just as it is the indication of some 
refinement of taste, and vigour of thought, fully 
to relish the beauties of the higher order of the 
English bards. 

" It is difficult to say, to what a degree, in 



* See Mrs. Grant's Work on the Superstitions of the 
Highlanders* 



ON IRELAND. 83 

* 4 the earlier periods of society, the rude com- 

;< positions of the bard and the minstrel, may 

,; have been instrumental in humanizing the 

•* minds of savage warriors, and in accele- 

" rating the growth of cultivated manners. 

" Among the Scandinavians and the Celtae we 

- know that this order of men was held in 

V very peculiar veneration ; and, accordingly 

iS it would appear, from the monuments which 

" remain of these nations, that they were dis- 

" tinguished by a delicacy in the passion of 

" love, and by a humanity and generosity to 

" the vanquished in war, which seldom appear 

" among barbarous tribes ; and with which it 

t; is hardly possible to conceive how men 

61 in such a state of society could have been 

" inspired, but by a separate class of indivi- 

" duals in the community, who devoted 

iS themselves to the pacific profession of 

" poetry, and to the cultivation of that crea- 

iC tive power of the mind, which anticipates 

" the course of human affairs, and presents, 

" in prophetic vision, to the poet and the phi- 

ct losopher, the blessings which accompany 

" the progress of reason and refinement."* 

These remarks on the national poetry of the 
Highlanders and Irish, may partly account 

* Stewart's Elements, of. the Philosophy of the Hum. 
Mind, p. 532. 

G 2 



84 OBSERVATIONS 

for the difference which exists in the character 
of the people. It is indeed more singular that 
the latter possess so many qualities in common 
with the former, than that they possess so few : 
deprived in a great measure of their bards and 
their chieftains, and, in consequence of the 
circumstances in which they have been placed, 
deprived also, of a great portion of that truly 
beautiful poetry which made the bards the 
ministers of good ; — left to the bigotry, and 
ignorance, and intolerance of priests, who dar- 
kened their understandings, and perverted their 
feelings, and who conceived it their interest to 
close the volume of inspiration and conceal the 
counsel of heaven ; — in such a situation, and 
with such guides, despised as savage and ungo- 
vernable by those whose policy contributed to 
make them so, a people who once sent forth 
the ministers of religion to enlighten the dark- 
ness of Europe*, have fatally embraced false 
views of morality, and with these have become 
the dupes of a fanatical superstition. 

Heavens ! how unlike their ' sires of old ! 

It would be improper on this subject not 
to advert, though it should be at the risk of 
incurring the charge of unnecessary and tire- 
Some repetition, to the political depression of 

* See Bede. 



OX IRELAND. 85 

Irish. This circumstance, though it is the 
last which I shall mention, as producing a dif- 
ference between the character ofthe Highlanders 
and the Irish, is by no means least in import- 
ance. Nor should it be overlooked, since it 
affords a memorable proof of the influence which 
depression exerts on the dispositions and man- 
ners of a people ; and clearly demonstrates, that 
even brethren may be so changed in some of 
the leading features of their character, by the 
moral and political circumstances in which 
they are placed, as to make it questionable 
whether they have sprung from the same ori- 
gin. Indeed, it may be considered as an 
incontrovertible maxim, supported by the his- 
tory of all nations, that every circumstance 
which divests any part of the community of 
respectability ,either in their own estimation or 
in that of their fellow citizens, is injurious to 
their moral interests. This, in some instances, 
maybe necessary, but it is in all cases an evil — 
and an evil of very considerable magnitude. 
Its unhappy influence on the Irish character 
has been considered in the remarks on the ten- 
dency of the penal laws. 



86 OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. IV. 



ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE. 



A VERY few remarks only can be offered on 
this subject, since its full consideration does 
not coincide with the object of this work. 

The Irish language is a dialect of what has 
been generally called the Celtic : and some 
antiquarians of note have maintained that it is 
the root of that ancient and venerable tongue. 
It is certain, that there is very little difference 
between it and the Gaelic ; and that a High- 
lander can converse easily with an Irishman. This 
remark holds true in some parts of Ireland more 
than in others. It becomes not a mountaineer of 
Scotland to say which is the more polished and 
copious : but if I may be permitted to give my 
opinion, I must maintain, that while the (rish 
seems to be more cultivated than the Gaelic, 
it retains less of its original simplicity. I re- 
fer particularly to the conjugation of the verb. 
In the dark ages,the monks seem to have labour- 
ed to make the flexion of the verb in their own 
tongue, similar to that of the Latin. This 
alteration, for I cannot call it an improvement, 



ON IRELAND. 87 

which is adhered to by all the grammarians, 
does not seem natural, nor at all suited to the 
genius of a language that is otherwise beauti- 
fully simple. 

It has been already remarked, that it is alto- 
gether idiomatic in its construction, or, to speak 
more correctly, its idioms are different from 
those of all the languages of Europe. It is 
extremely copious, especially on any subject 
connected with the passions ; though it can 
scarcely be considered a good vehicle for phi- 
losophy. No tongue can better suit the pur- 
pose of the orator, whose object is to make an 
impression on a popular assembly, and who, re- 
gardless of precision, seeks only to accomplish 
his end. Hence also, it is admirably adapted 
to poetry. 

Every one has remarked the readiness with 
which an Irishman applies the language of en- 
dearment to all his associates : and though I 
had never heard him speak, I should conclude 
this to be the case from an investigation of his 
dialect. It abounds with terms, which, if 
literally translated, would appear to a native 
of either part of this island, excessively extra- 
vagant. This fact seems to confirm the idea 
which I formerly advanced respecting the ten- 
der and mild enthusiasm of the Irish. 

The number of people who speak this lan- 
guage is much greater than is generally suppos- 



88 OBSERVATIONS 

ed. It is spoken throughout the province of 
Connaught by all the lower orders, a great part 
of whom, scarcely understand any English ; and 
some of those 11 ho do* understand it only so as 
to conduct business : they are incapable of 
receiving moral or religious instruction through 
its medium. The Irish is spoken very gene- 
rally through the other three provinces, except 
among the descendants of the Scotch in the 
north. It cannot be supposed that calcula- 
tions on this subject should be perfectly accu- 
rate ; but it has been concluded on good grounds 
that there are about two millions of people in 
Ireland who are incapable of understanding a 
continued discourse in English. The grounds 
on which such calculations are made cannot 
be deemed very accurate. Dr. Stokes, who has 
written a pamphlet on the necessity of pub- 
lishing the ^scriptures in the Irish language, 
merely mentions the counties in which it is the 
prevailing speech. He states, indeed, that about 
two thousand Irish catechisms are sold annu- 
ally ; and concludes from this circumstance, 
that there must be about twenty thousand per- 
sons in Ireland who have made some attempt at 
reading their native language.* Eut suppos- 
ing this calculation to be overrated by half a 
million ; there remains a million and half, a 

* The number of those who read the Irish language has 
been of late greatly increased. 



ON IRELAND* 89 

number that is five times greater than all the 
inhabitants of the Highlands. 

How eonies it to pass that the Hibernian lan- 
guage, in spite of every exertion to complete 
its extinction, has survived so long, and conti- 
nues to be spoken by such a vast multitude of 
people ? In answer to this question, I remark, 

First, that every people situated as the Irish, 
and the Welch, and the Highlanders are, 
and have been, must be fond of their own 
language even to enthusiasm. The less inter- 
course a nation has with foreigners, and the 
more ignorant it is of their institutions, man- 
ners, and language, the more perfect it will 
consider its own : consequently it will feel the 
utmost reluctance to give up either. And who 
in any circumstances can easily relinquish the 
tongue, which first conveyed to his infant mind 
the tender a*nd endearing accents of maternal 
affection, w r hich in riper years he has associated 
with all his joys and sorrows, with all his 
pleasing and painful emotions ; which is ren- 
dered sacred by being the medium of commu- 
nication with that great and holy Being, whom 
he adores ; and without the aid of which, per- 
haps, he cannot form an accurate conception on 
any subject? The completeextinctionof the lan- 
guage of a people, time and favourable circum- 
stances alone must effect; unless recourse should 



90 OBSERVATIONS 

be had to the more cruel, but certainly more ex- 
peditious method, of destroying the people at 
once. How fully is this remark verified in 
the repeated attempts of William the Norman 
to introduce the dialect of France among the 
people wriich his arms had conquered ! 

Secondly, the attachment of the human mind 
to any object is increased in proportion to the 
reproach and persecution which is suffered for 
its sake. At this advanced period of the world 
this obvious truth requires jio illustration ; or. 
if any be necessary, the history of Ireland will 
furnish it. The exertions which have been 
made to suppress the language of that country, 
have greatly strengthened the prepossessions of 
the natives in its favour ; and they now, in some 
degree, consider their honour pledged for its 
preservation. 

There is a^ species of barbarity which though 
not so revolting to the feelings of humanity as 
that-of the conqueror, who spares neither age nor 
sex amongst the vanquished, is, perhaps, in 
itself not less shocking and criminal. To per- 
ceive this, however, it is necessary not only to 
have some warmth of social affection, some re- 
gard to the general interests of man, but also to 
possess a thorough conviction of his responsi- 
bility, — not merely to have the doubtful good- 
ness which allows him existence, but the less 



ON IRELAND. 91 

ambiguous benevolence which aims at his hap- 
piness and welfare. Now, to proscribe the 
language of a whote people because it does 
not happen to be the same with the speech 
of the conqueror and the court, to leave those 
who speak it in ignorance in order to accelerate 
its extinction, and even actively to discourage 
every attempt to instruct and enlighten unless 
it be in the protected tongue, are maxims which 
appear to me not only barbarous, but absolutely 
inefficient as to the end in view. The serious 
nature of these charges, and the general import- 
ance of the subject, may justify more extended 
details respecting the history of the Celtic 
dialects as existing in the British Isles. 

The Welch, it must be allowed, have in 
general been more fortunate than their bre- 
thren. They, no doubt, were at one period 
very cruelly used ; their bards were inhumanly 
massacred, and their independence is alienated 
forever. But since that period they have been 
treated with liberalitv ; neither themselves nor 
their language have been proscribed. Books 
have been published in it, and schoolmasters 
and teachers of religion for ages have instruct- 
ed them through its medium. The happy re- 
sult is, that in no country is there more public 
and private virtue, more domestic happiness, 
more ardent and scriptural piety, or greater 
2 



92 OBSERVATIONS 

loyalty and subordination. They have been 
permitted and even encouraged to cultivate 
their own tongue, to improve their minds by 
the tracts that are printed in it; and these are 
the fruits which this wise measure has pro- 
duced. It ought to be remarked, however, 
that Wales has been much indebted to her ne r 
vicinity to England. Her inhabitants, indeed, 
inform us that they owe most of their advan- 
tages to their own powerful genius, to their 
ancient literature, and to the taste for know- 
ledge which, they say, has always been preserv- 
ed amongst them. Without entering into any 
inquiry as to the truth of this, it may safely 
be affirmed, that they are under many obliga- 
tions to benevolent Englishmen who have 
visited their country, and who have done more 
for the education of its poor inhabitants, than 
sixty years ago was done for their own. Perhaps 
it was impossible to be in perfect contact with 
the land of freedom, of knowledge, arid of 
science, without partaking in some of its bles- 
sings. At this moment there are in circula- 
tion nearly a hundred thousand copies of the 
Welch Bible. 

The Highlands of Scotland, from particular 
circumstances in its history, enjoyed all the 
advantages of the reformation. The clergy 
were required to preach in the Gaelic Ian- 



ON IRELAND. 93 

guage : schoolmasters were appointed in every 
parish, who, in general, could teach the chil- 
dren to read in that tongue. But unfortunately 
the rebellion of 171*5, and of 1745, excited 
prejudices against both the Highlanders and 
their language : their very garb, martial as it 
is, was proscribed ; and no measure was 
thought too severe, which had for its ob- 
ject the suppression of any thing allied to the- 
insurgent mountaineers. It was even deemed 
improper to publish books in the Gaelic, lest it 
should tend to the preservation of the language : 
so powerful was this prejudice, that it was 
after a long struggle.and against incessant oppo- 
sition, that the Society for propagating Christ 
tian Knowledge undenook at a recent period 
the translation of the Bible. When the British 
and Foreign Bible Society published an edition 
of the same translation, it encountered a con- 
siderable share of this opposition. It was said 
in both cases,, that though the Highlanders were 
ignorant of the scriptures, it is improper to 
supply them in their own tongue ; that, this 
plan tends to preserve a language which 
ought to be abolished ; that there were only 
a few thousands in the Highlands who could 
not understand English, and that these would 
soon be removed ; and that since few of these 
could read the Gaelic, the translation of the 



94 OBSERVATIONS 

sacred writings could be of no use to them. 
This was maintained after it was known that 
there are three hundred .thousand people in 
the Highlands, who do not understand a conti- 
nued discourse in the English language. 

In conformity to these absurd reasonings and 
prejudices, schoolmasters of every description 
have been accustomed hitherto to teach the chil- 
dren, who do not understand oneword of English, 
in that language only, till few of them have time 
left to learn to read tolerably in the language 
which they understand, and through which they 
can possibly obtain information. 

It is far from my intention to insinuate, that 
the honourable the Society in Scotland for 
propagating Christian Knowledge in the High- 
lands and Isles, does not explicitly command 
their schoolmasters to teach the Gaelic lan- 
guage, where that language chiefly prevails. 
No one can look at their regulations without 
being perfectly satisfied on this head ; nor is it 
possible to advert to the good which this in- 
stitution has produced, without admitting its 
undeniable claim to the everlasting gratitude 
of mankind. If the Gaelic language is not 
taught in the most efficient manner, the fault 
is not to be attributed' to the honourable soci- 
ety, but to the erroneous sentiments which 
have prevailed on the subject. 



ON IRELAND. 95 

Happily the Highland ministers universally 
preached in the Gaelic language before the year 
171.5, and 1745; otherwise it would certainly 
have been deemed highly expedient to preach 
only in the more modern tongue. Some in 
their simplicity will say, this is impossible. 
How could three hundred thousand people be 
left without intelligible instruction of any 
kind ? The history of Ireland will inform us 
that such a case is not impossible. 

The reformation, it is well known, has made 
very little progress in that country : the mass 
of the people remain in connection with 
the church of Rome. Of these, as has been 
already observed, there are a million and a half, 
who understood no tongue but the Irish. 
Now, the established church has made no pro- 
vision whatever for this population ; there is 
not one of its ministers that preaches in this 
language.* In a parish containing twelve hun- 
dred inhabitants, in some instances not above 
one hundred, in others not above fifty persons, 
can derive any advantage from a sermon, or any- 
other continued discourse in English, and yet, 
the clergyman who is entrusted with the care of 
their souls understands no other. It is true 
most of these people are Roman catholics. 
Are they not forced, however, to remain in 
the bosom of the Roman church ? Their 

* So far as my observation goes, this assertion is just. 



90 



OBSERVATIONS 



priests give them that instruction in the vene- 
rable tongue of their fathers, which the protes- 
tant teachers have always denied them. And, 
yet, these teachers complain of the increase of 
papists, and of the gross ignorance of the people. 
How inconsistent is man ! 

Let it be observed that this shameful neglect 
of the Irish population does not proceed from 
mere accident ; most of the Anglo-Hibernians 
attempt to justify it. This many of them do 
by arguments which are too absurd to be 
mentioned. The principal are these two : that 
the number of people who understand Irish 
only, is not so great as I have stated ; and 
that though it were, the instruction of the 
people in this language, can answer no good 
end. In answer to the first of these arguments, 
I shall only say, that though I cannot pretend 
to accuracy in my calculations on this subject, 
I have always found, that in places where 
gentlemen hostile to this tongue assured me 
there was not a word of it spoken, in these 
very districts, I heard very little English. The 
truth is, a great part of Ireland is not much 
explored by such gentlemen ; and when they 
do travel, it is not through the vallies and 
recesses of the mountains^ but along the 
roads, where they must, at the inns, see those 
whose interest it is to speak the language of 
strangers. What would be thouhgt of an Eng- 



ON IRELAND. 97 

lishman, who should travel from Edinburgh to 
Fort William, and thence to Inverness, and 
there declare that the English tongue was 
spoken through all that country ; that it 
was therefore unnecessary to teach the peo- 
ple in any other? As to the second objection, 
though obviously absurd, I shall only say, that 
it appears to me to be a dictate of reason, and 
of common sense, that if ever a people be in- 
formed and enlightened, it must be by means 
of the language, which they understand. Will 
it not answer a good end to enlighten, and 
inform, and improve the native Irish ? Will it 
not answer the most noble and beneficent pur- 
poses to inculcate those principles, which will 
make them good men, and good subjects ? But 
this measure will perpetuate the Irish tongue. 
What then ? its existence surely can do no 
harm ; whereas ignorance, and vice, and su- 
perstition, will always produce evil. 

The truth is, however, that the cultivation 
of either the Irish or the Gaelic is the most 
effectual, as well as the most expeditious plan 
that can be adopted for their extinction. Make 
any people intelligent and rational, and they 
will gradually lose their prejudices; many of 
them will acquire a taste for general knowledge, 
and they will seek for it in the general tongue 
of the empire. Besides, all their interest must 

H 



98 OBSERVATIONS 

incline them to this measure : if they wish to 
improve their condition, or to have their sons 
advanced in the service of their country, they 
will find it necessary to have some English 
book-learning themselves, and to be at some 
pains to impart it to their children.* 

But I have said enough to justify the charges 
which I have advanced against the adversaries 
of the Irish tongue : and if I have been in any 
degree successful in my statement, I think it 
will appear, that the means employed to sup- 
press it are all founded in ignorance of human 
nature ; that they are not only barbarous, but 
absolutely inefficient as to the end in view. 

Before I leave this subject, I ought perhaps 
to mention, that in 1808, that part of the Irish 
population to which I refer, had few school- 
masters of any description; and of these I met 
with scarcely any who professed to teach the 
natives in their own tongue. Some of the 
Anglo-Hibernians at that time strongly main- 
tained, that this dialect is so barbarous, that it 
cannot answer the purpose of instruction : 
others, that it would awaken the enthusiasm of 
the Wild Irish, (as they call them,) to make 
any attempt of this kind, and consequently 
that it might prove dangerous to the govem- 

* See note E* 



ONIREXAND. 9i) 

ment : and others, that they had no desire to 
be taught in Irish, and that it would be useless 
to send teachers among them for this purpose. 
Schoolmasters, however, of this very descrip- 
tion have since been employed, and the people 
have received them with the utmost affection 
and gratitude. — But this subject is considered 
more fully in a subsequent part of this volume. 
The last circumstance which I shall notice 
as contributing to the preservation of the 
Irish language is, its association with popery. 
From the foregoing observations this particular 
must have been anticipated. It has been stated* 
that the priests, wherever it is necessary, are 
all acquainted with this tongue, while the pro- 
testant teachers are all ignorant of it, or at least 
do not take the trouble of making it the vehi- 
cle of religious instruction. This circumstance 
has become the occasion of considerable rancour 
and animosity. For, on the one hand, the 
understanding of English is the characteristic 
of Protestantism ; on the other, the Irish tongue 
] s the mark of Catholicism. This man hates 
his neighbour, because he speaks no Irish; and 
his neighbour treats him with contempt because 
he is not acquainted with English. By the 
principle of association, the Protestant con- 
founds Irish with disloyalty and rebellion, and 
the Catholic considers English as allied to pro- 

h2 



100 OBSERVATIONS 

testantism and damnable error. This is only 
true, perhaps, of the uneducated part of the 
population; but it should be recollected, that 
when that population is immense, as in the 
present case, its very prejudices merit some de- 
gree of attention. 

The circumstance to which I have now 
alluded has given, I am persuaded, a very con- 
siderable influence to the Catholic supersti- 
tion in Ireland; and there is no way in which 
that influence can either be counteracted or 
diminished, but by the adoption and prosecu- 
tion of plans very different from those that have 
been hitherto pursued in reference to that 
country. 

It may, perhaps, be expected that I should 
deduce some inference from the Irish language 
respecting the probable origin of the Irish peo- 
ple. — It has appeared that this is, with a very 
few variations, entirely the same as the Gaelic : 
it has also been shewn, that the great outlines 
of the Irish character are the same as those of 
the Highlander ; and that the more minute 
shades of difference are to be ascribed to moral 
and political causes. The conclusion from this 
induction evidently is, that the Irish and the 
Highlanders are originally the same people. 
As to the question, whether the Irish emigra- 
ted from Scotland, or the Caledonians from. 



ON IRELAND. 101 

Ireland, it appears to me, in point of uti- 
lity, much the same as that of the Welchman, 
who endeavoured to ascertain, whether the 
Welch was the language of Adam and Eve in 
Paradise. 



102 OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. V. 



REMARKS ON SOME PARTS OF THE HISTORY OF 
IRELAND. 

JVlR. HUME remarks that the conquered 
provinces of free countries are more oppressed 
than those of absolute monarchies. " Com- 
" pare/' says he, " the Pais conqais of France 
" with Ireland, and you will be convinced of 
" this truth ; though this latter kingdom being 
" in a good measure peopled from England 
" possesses so many rights and privileges as 
" should naturally make it challenge better 
" treatment than that of a conquered province. 
" Corsica is also an obvious instance to the 
" same purpose."* 

Those principles in human nature which 
account for this general truth are very obvious ; 
and the observation so far as it regards Ireland 
will be fully confirmed by a careful survey of 
the history of that country ,since its conquest by 
Henry. Its situation before this period though 



* Hume's Essay on Politics and Science, p. 30. 

2 



ON IRELAND. 103 

■. 

no doubt, rude and barbarous, was compatible 
with some share of domestic enjoyment. It 
possessed undisturbed its own governments, 
its laws and institutions ; and these, though 
far from being the best, were better adapted to 
the .manners and genius of the people to be 
governed than the most perfect political arrange- 
ments. 

Imported forms of government seldom pro- 
duce happy effects in the first instance, espe- 
cially when these forms are imposed by the 
desolating sword of the invader. Then, the 
native imbibes and retains the most inveterate 
prejudices against every thing that comes from 
the stranger : his language, his manners, and his 
very garb, every circumstance that is associated 
with his country and his person, become the 
objects of cordial detestation. And though 
the hand of power may restrain this hatred, yet 
power alone cannot remove it, nor altogether 
counteract its effects ; it will discover 
itself by turbulence and insurrection, and 
often by making the people more ferocious 
than they had been in the state of their 
original barbarity. Its influence also must be 
considered as deleterious on the manners and 
dispositions of the conquerors : power, which 
may be considered as absolute, exercised over 
those who are viewed by them as infinitely 



104 OBSERVATIONS 

their inferiors, and from whom, perhaps, 
they are receiving constant provocation, will 
gradually superinduce a cruelty of disposition, 
and a stupid insensibility to the happiness of 
their fellow creatures, which all the civilization 
and humanity of the country which they have 
left will not be able to prevent. The force of this 
antipathy can only be diminished by time, by 
the conciliating measures of a wise government, 
by benevolent and ameliorating exertion, by 
sharing the distinction and privileges of the 
state equally among all the subjects, and by a 
Teadiness to consult and even to flatter the 
national prejudices of the natives. 

If the conquest of Ireland had been rendered 
the means of communicating that moderate 
degree of civilization and happiness which 
England then enjoyed, its propriety might have 
been maintained on the score of benevolence 
though, perhaps, not of justice. " But unfortu- 
" nately the state of Ireland rendered that island 
" so little inviting to the English, that only a 
" few of desperate fortunes could be persuaded, 
" from time to time, to transport themselves 
" thither ; and instead of reclaiming the na- 
" tives from their uncultivated manners, they 
< c were gradually assimilated to the ancient 
'* inhabitants, and degenerated from the cus- 
' tomsof their own nation. It was also found 



CN IRELAND. 10J 

u requisite to bestow great military and arbi- 
" trary powers on the leaders who commanded 
" a handful of men amidst such hostile multi- 
" tudes ; and law and equity, in a little time> 
" became as much unknown in the English 
" settlements, as they had ever been among the 
" Irish tribes. Palatinates wereerectedin favour 
H - of the new adventurers ; independent autho* 
" rity conferred ; the natives, never fully sub- 
u dued, still retained their animosity against the 
" conquerors ; their hatred was retaliated by 
" like injuries ; and from these causes, the 
" Irish, during the course of four centuries, 
" remained still savage and untractable : it was 
" not till the latter end of Elizabeth's reign> 
" that the island was fully subdued, nor till 
" that of her successor, that it gave hopes of 
" becoming a useful conquest to England."* 

Such is the opinion of Mr. Hume; and it 
certainly, though not a pleasing, is a very 
correct statement. There are several facts 
connected with it, however, which merit a little 
more elucidation. 

The Greeks and Romans, the polished na- 
tions of antiquity, have been justly blamed for 
the pride and insolence which they discovered 
to their less fortunate neighbours. But thi§ is 

* Hume's History of England, v. ii. p. 431. 



106 OBSERVATIONS 

a kind of fruit that will grow on every soil and 
is congenial with every climate : it is as well 
adapted to that of Great Britain, as to the mild 
temperature of Italy and Greece. This cir- 
cumstance will account for the opinions which 
were long entertained in this country respect- 
ing the inhabitants of the neighbouring isle. 
Will it be credited that it is only of late 
the native Irish were viewed in any other 
light than a species of the rudest savage barba- 
rians, as unworthy, as they were incapable, of 
receiving instruction ; and were therefore aban- 
doned, without a single effort to cultivate or 
reclaim them, to the dark and devious mazes o 
the profoundest ignorance, and of the most 
hateful but fascinating error ? Hence, during 
four centuries subsequent to the conquest, the 
English law was confined to very narrow limits; 
the great body of the people had no advantages 
whatever from it ; they lived without law or 
equity, subjected to a number of rapacious and 
petty tyrants who plundered and massacred at 
discretion. If their condition, therefore, was 
wretched before their alliance with England, 
its degradation and misery must have been 
increased in a tenfold degree during this un- 
happy period. At a time of comparative tran- 
quillity, the bards by their musical influence, 



ON IRELAND. 107 

and the chieftains by their patriarchal authority, 
would produce a considerable degree of order 
in the community : but when the whole king- 
dom was in a state of fermentation, without 
law, without order, living without regard to 
justice or humanity, and when such a state of 
things was not temporary but lasting for ages, 
what imagination can conceive half the misery 
which this unequalled reign of anarchy and of 
horror must necessarily occasion ? It was 
during this time, that an Englishman when he 
happened to murder an Irishman was punished 
only by a fine ; whereas a native, when he killed 
an Englishman, was always punished with 
death. Thus, the latter was treated as con- 
nected with an inferior order of beings ; viewed 
nearly in the same light as West India slaves, 
and punished in a similar manner. And as in 
times of violence and outrage, the crime of 
murder was very frequent, this circumstance 
tended to produce an implacable hatred be- 
tween the original inhabitants and the English ; 
a disposition which, unfortunately, has been 
exasperated by other causes, and continued long 
after the grievance which partly occasioned it 
has been redressed.* 

* " The limit which divided the possessions of the English 
" settler from those of the native Irish, was called the pale ; 
" and the expressions of inhabitants within the pale, and 



108 OBSERVATIONS 

Besides, the unbounded power and rapacity 
of the Anglo-Hibernian barons were attended 
with circumstances which tended to increase 
the general calamity. This power they exerted 
not only for the destruction of one another, but 
for the irritation of the native chieftains, who, 
when they attempted to repel the insult, afforded 
their adversaries the desired opportunity of 
seizing their property. It was then not unfre- 
quent for bold adventurers to undertake expe- 
ditions against the natives to enrich themselves 
with the spoils ; and that at a time, too, when 
these poor people w r ere giving no offence. Thus, 
they were exposed to the attacks of some of 
the most worthless of mankind; possessing 
neither law, nor friend, nor protector ; whilst 
the land of their fathers was considered as the 

ce without the pale, were the terms by which the two nations 
" were distinguished. It is almost superfluous to state, that 
" the most bloody and pernicious warfare was carried on 
<f upon the borders — sometimes for something — sometimes 
" for nothing ; most commonly for cows. The Irish, over 
" whom the sovereigns of England affected a sort of nomi- 
a nal dominion, were entirely governed by their own laws ; 
" and so little connexion had they with the justice of the 
" invading country, that it was as lawful to kill an Irishman, 
ie as it was to kill a badger or a fox. The instances are mnu- 
w merable, where the defendant has pleaded that the de- 
S( ceased was an Irishman, and thattherefore defendant had 
" a right to kill him ; and upon the proof of Hibernianism, 
" acquittal followed of course." 

* Edin. Rev. July, 1807, 



ON IRELAND. 109 

lawful prey of every turbulent and enterprising 
Englishman. 

How different was all this from that mild and 
patriarchal chieftainship which existed in the 
Highlands, and even in Ireland before this pe- 
riod! Under this species of government the 
chieftain was, indeed, the father, the friend, 
and the protector of his people ; he lived in 
rude magnificence, and they shared his bounty ; 
his authority, though absolute, w r as seldom ex- 
erted with rigour or cruelty; his manners, 
which were imitated by all his clan, were 
elevated though not refined, and polite though 
not polished. But this scene, so beautiful and 
so primitive, so pleasing to the imagination 
and embracing so much comparative enjoy- 
ment, vanished wherever the standard of Eng- 
land was unfurled ; and this name, which, 
throughout the world was always associated 
with justice, humanity, and freedom, in this 
instance was allied to oppression and tyranny. 
It is true, much of this evil was not committed 
by the authority or even with the knowledge 
of the parent state. The government of that 
state had its attention occupied by long and 
destructive wars, and by civil commotions, 
harassing and ruinous : so that the state of 
Ireland was only taken into consideration at 
intervals, and then not with that spirit which a 
more liberal policy would have dictated. It is 



110 OBSERVATIONS 

only of late that its situation has awakened the 
public attention, and that the severity with 
which it has been treated, and the cruelties to 
which it was exposed, have been deemed wor* 
thy of full and candid consideration. 

It may be asked, what purpose can it serve 
to recal these grievances to our recollection, or 
to refer us to so afflicting a period of Irish his- 
tory? In this I have two ends in view, nearly 
allied to the object which it is designed these 
pages should promote. First, to shew how 
unjustly Ireland has for a long time been treated, 
and thus to unfold some of the causes which 
have retarded its improvement : and, secondly, 
to shew how much should be done by way of 
retribution for a country so long neglected. 

The first of these particulars needs little il* 
lustration. It can never be unseasonable to 
place before our eyes circumstances, which, 
however disgusting, have nevertheless been 
real ; and which, though now known only by 
historic records, have produced effects that 
will be felt for ages. It is to the period to 
which Mr. Hume refers, and to a few centuries 
subsequent to it, that we are to trace many of 
the sources of that complication of misery and 
wretchedness at which the people of this coun- 
try wonder. 

Indeed, there has been something singularly 
unfortunate in the fate of the native Irish : cir~ 



ON IRELAND. Ill 

cumstances in close succession, since their first 
connection with England, have occurred to viti- 
ate and depress them. Over some of these 
circumstances the government of this country 
had little controul ; though many of them have 
certainly been occasioned by the policy avowed 
by the ministers of Queen Elizabeth, which is 
expressed in the following words. " Should 
" we exert ourselves in reducing this country 
" to order and civility, it must soon acquire 
" power, consequence, and riches. The inha- 
" bitants will be thus alienated from England; 
" they will cast themselves into the arms of 
" some foreign power, or perhaps erect them- 
8 selves into an independent and separate 
11 state. Let us rather connive at their disor- 
" ders; for a weak and disordered people never 
" can detach themselves from the crown of 
" England."* 

The second object which I had in view, in 
this short sketch, was to shew how much it 
behoves Britain to do for this country byway 
of retribution. What has been done to ameli- 
orate the state of the Irish? Doubtless much; 
but it may be said, that little has been accom- 
plished, compared with what should have been 
done. We talk as if we were astonished at 
the ignorance, the wickedness, the cruelty, and 
the intellectual degradation of the people of 

* Leland's History of Ireland, v. iii. 



112 OBSERVATIONS 

Ireland, whilst we forget that the profligacy, 
the rapacity, the nationality, and bigotry, of 
our fathers contributed directly or indirectly to 
the production of these evils ; whilst the wise 
policy, the patient and benevolent exertion of 
their descendants, have done little to remove 
them. It is easy for the numerous tribes of our 
little politicians to say, that there is a radical 
difference in disposition and genius between 
that people and ourselves, that' they have a 
strong inaptitude to the pursuit or attainment 
of moral excellence, that all our measures for 
their improvement must be fruitless, and that 
public order and future allegiance among them, 
can only be maintained by the arm of power. 
This is the language of prejudice and ignorance; 
it is the conception of narrow minds, who are 
incapable of taking a comprehensive view of a 
subject. For it is education, it is a free go- 
vernment, it is religion and moral instruction 
that form the national character ; and it becomes 
us seriously to inquire, whether these blessings 
have been enjoyed by our neighbours and fellow 
subjects, or whether some of them, at least, 
have not been withheld. It is certain that 
we are their debtors to a very large amount, 
and that much must be done before we can 
quit the score of justice and begin that of gene- 
rosity. This will appear farther in the sequel. 



ON IRELAND. 113 



CHAP. VI. 



THE PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION IN IRE- 
LAND—REMARKS ON THE STATE OF MORALS 
AND RELIGION, BEFORE THIS PERIOD. 

1 HE mere establishment of forms of religion 
and of civil government, however pure in their 
nature, and beneficial in their tendency, can 
be of little avail to the general happiness of any 
people, unless they have been previously pre- 
pared for their reception, and unless the adop- 
tion of them be the effect rather than the cause 
of their improvement. It Gan contribute little 
to the good of the people, that in states the 
most corrupt, where the multitude are grossly- 
stupid and ignorant, revolutions take place in 
infinite succession : these changes only give 
them new masters, whilst they leave their con- 
dition marked with the same unvaried supine- 
ness, the same apathy to noble and vigorous 
exertion, the same melancholy and hopeless 
degradation. There has been a revolution in 
France as well as in England ; but the one has 
secured the liberty and independence of the 



114 OBSERVATIONS 

subject for ever, while the other has produced 
a power which attempts to destroy the dearest 
remains of all that claims the sympathies and 
affections of man, and threatens with its gigan- 
tic force to bring the whole world again into 
bondage. It was not because the French peo- 
ple wanted philosophers and patriots, men who 
sincerely wished the renovation of the state, 
and the happiness of society, that their chains 
have thus been rivetted ; but the multitude was 
ignorant : they had more of the senseless forms 
of popery than of the pure morality of that reli- 
gion whose name it assumes ; they had more of 
the blind fanaticism of a revolutionary phrenzy, 
than of the popular enthusiasm of a nation 
already beyond the power of thraldom, because 
they determine to be free — already in the enjoy- 
ment of liberty^ because they are capable of 
appreciating the inconceivable advantage of 
that liberty at which they aim. 

Are we then to conclude, that unless a peo- 
ple be somewhat enlightened, all forms of 
government, w 7 hether civil or religious, are in 
point of utility to them alike? This were per- 
haps granting too much ; since it is more proba- 
ble that a free government, if, indeed, such an 
institution can in such circumstances long exist, 
will improve the condition of the people sooner 
than one of an opposite description. It is per- 



ON IRELAND 



115 



fectly evident, however, that forms of religion 
can do no good, unless their immediate and 
direct object be to produce pure devotion and 
genuine morality ; and that when these effects 
are produced, a nation will spontaneously re- 
linquish the unmeaning and pernicious mum- 
meries of superstition. First enlighten the 
people, and make them christians, before you 
attempt to reform and make them protestants. 
This, at least, seems the most natural, as well 
as the most efficient mode of procedure. Ac- 
cordingly, in those countries in which the 
reformation from popery commenced, and to 
which it has extended its inestimable blessings, 
some knowledge had been diffused among the 
lower orders of the people ; their condition in 
society was considerably improved ; and the 
sacred writings began to be in circulation : so 
that their departure from the tyranny of the 
church of Rome was as agreeable to them as to 
their rulers, and an event which, though its 
accomplishment might have been protracted, 
no power on earth could ultimately prevent. 
To be convinced of the truth of this, let us only 
advert to one of the causes which, in conjunc- 
tion with many others, occasioned that long 
night of moral darkness, so illustrative of hu- 
man folly and weakness, and so replete with 
instruction to the ages to come. 

I 2 



116 OBSERVATIONS 

In the primitive christian church, the circu- 
lation of the sacred writings must have been 
necessarily limited. The method of multiply- 
ing copies of any author, was, at that time, as 
well as for many ages afterwards, extremely 
tedious and expensive : the opulent alone could 
afford the gratification of a tolerable library. 
From this circumstance, a few copies of the 
inspired volume, or perhaps a single copy among 
the members of one congregation, was as much 
as could be expected. And though this would 
be carefully and frequently consulted, yet from 
the nature of the case it must be presumed, 
that the people derived their principal informa- 
tion from the pastors of the church. Notwith- 
standing this disadvantage, Christianity, to a 
period long subsequent to the decease of its 
only infallible teachers, flourished in all its 
purity, and mightily prevailed. Its humble 
preachers were not yet acquainted with the 
metaphysical jargon of the schools ; the doc- 
trine of Christ supremely occupied their atten- 
tion ; neither was there yet any temptation 
presented to unprincipled men to assume the 
mask of religion, to make the church the path 
to opulence and power, and zeal for its cause 
a pretence to the accomplishment of the most 
criminal designs. 

The great comparative scarcity of the scrip- 



CN IRELAND. 117 

tures, before the invention of the art of print- 
ing, is a circumstance whose influence on the 
introduction of error and false religion ought not 
to be unnoticed or forgotten. When the great 
body of the believers received all their know- 
ledge from the rulers of the church, who were 
erring mortals like themselves, it was very- 
possible for them in many instances to be wrong. 
Difference of opinion would of course arise ; 
this would beget division ; division would pro- 
duce bigotry and intolerance ; and these quali- 
ties, when strengthened by the love of victory 
and power, would end in the violence of perse- 
cution. A knowledge of the Bible not being 
familiar to the people, it would, in the progress 
of error, not be deemed very essential to their 
teachers ; a minute acquaintance with polemi- 
cal divinity,, together with the imposing dogmas 
and senseless disputes of the church, would be 
deemed far more useful* in a candidate for the 
holy ministry. Error being thus finally esta- 
blished, and along with it a powerful order of 
men who would feel interested in its support, 
that part of mankind who should presume to 
adhere to the simplicity of the ancient faith, 
must incur the odious name of heretic, and feel 
themselves involved in the punishment assigned 
to this unfortunate character. 

Ireland, at a very early period, was visited 



113 OBSERVATIONS 

with the true religion ; and according to the 
testimony of respectable historians, it continued 
for a long time the seat of learning and of piety. 
It is probable, however, that though all the 
inhabitants are said to have embraced Christi- 
anity, multitudes only acquiesced in it, with- 
out relinquishing their pagan ceremonies, or 
their barbarous practices. Had the case been 
otherwise, and had the population been gene- 
rally so holy and enlightened as their annalists 
maintain, there would have remained less ambi- 
guous vestiges of a purer morality. At the 
same time, I am far from denying to the first 
christian missionaries in this country, or to 
their successors, a great degree of purity, both 
of doctrine and of practice : they boldly resisted 
the encroachments of the church of Rome ; and 
it must be allowed, that in forming an opinion 
of their character, and the extent of their la- 
bours, we must recollect the difficulties which 
they had to encounter, and the variety of cir- 
cumstances which tended to counteract their 
benevolent exertions. 

The seminary which had been established at 
Armagh, and which sent enlightened pastors, 
not merely to different parts of Ireland, but to 
England and the continent, was totally destroy, 
ed by the barbarism of restless clans, whose 
petty contests seldom permitted them to enjoy 



ON IRELAND. 119 

the blessings of peace. This circumstance 
produced an unfavourable effect on the litera- 
ture and religion of the country. It was im- 
possible for many churches after this to obtain 
ministers, whilst others were supplied with 
men the most unqualified for their office. In 
some places the people seem to have been left 
for ages without instruction, whilst in others, 
error was dignified with the name of knowledge. 
Thus the grossest ignorance, and its never- 
failing attendant, superstition, gradually cover- 
ed the whole land. 

The influence of the English invasion and 
settlement in producing this state of things 
ought not to be overlooked. For upwards of 
four hundred and forty years the colony from 
England was involved in almost constant hos- 
tilities with the natives. They were better 
skilled in the art of war, better provided 
with provision and ammunition, and might, 
with a very inconsiderable army, have subju- 
gated Ireland to the dominion of the parent 
country. But the chiefs of this party unfortu- 
nately conceived, that it was not their interest 
ever to make peace with their enemies, or to 
confer on them the blessings of English govern- 
ment. Accordingly, when they were reduced 
so low as suppliantly to implore these privi- 
leges, various methods were devised to prevent 



ISO OBSERVATIONS 

this unfortunate and neglected race from en- 
joying that protection of equal law which they 
so earnestly desired. 

Whilst the Irish remained in this secluded 
state, every petty chieftain of the pale* made 
war on them at discretion, plundered their pro- 
perty, murdered them as dangerous and disaf- 
fected, and took possession of that land from 
which the wretched aborigines were expelled. 
It is true, the latter were often the aggressors : 
the provocations to which they were exposed 
made them sometimes fickle, often ferocious, 
and occasionally deceitful. The harvest, how- 
ever, which their perpetual divisions and in- 
surrections afforded to their adversaries, was 
( deemed too valuable to induce them to adopt 
any effectual measures for bringing them to a 
termination. 

It is not easy for those who have always en- 
joyed the advantages of civilized society, to 
form an adequate idea of the state of things 
to which I refer ; or to entertain a just concep- 
tion of the deleterious influence which perpe- 

* Though every reader of Irish history is acquainted 
with the meaning of the word pale, as applied by Irish 
historians, it may not be improper to mention, that it is 
used to denote the confines of that little territory which the 
English colony possessed, See the note to page 109. 



ON IRELAND. 121 

tual war must exert on the comfort, virtue, 
and happiness of even uncultivated life. This 
dreadful experiment has been tried on the coast 
both of Africa and Ireland, and it has been 
found to awaken the worst passions of the 
human breast, and to debase the character be- 
neath the ordinary standard of savage life. And 
it is not a little singular that the oppressors of 
both countries should have attempted to jus- 
tify their hateful tyranny by the same argu- 
ments. Those of Ireland, like their brethren 
of more modern times, maintained, that the 
natives of that country were a race inferior to 
themselves, that they were incapable of im- 
provement or of subordination ; and that, there- 
fore, they ought not to enjoy the liberty or pro- 
tection of fellow creatures, and of fellow sub- 
jects.* Acting on this principle, they often 
murdered the natives with impunit}^ or, at any 
rate, were only punished by a trifling fine. 
The darkest atrocities were committed under 
the pretext of necessity. 

How could any people placed in these cir- 
cumstances advance in improvement ? Or could 
it be expected that their curiosity should be 
so awakened by previous disquisition as to 

f Leland's History of Ireland. Spencer's View of Ireland. 

2 



122 OBSERVATIONS 

render them zealous in the work of reformation? 
In other countries this work began by the gra- 
dual elevation of the lower orders of society ; 
by their acquiring additional importance in the 
state : and this again was occasioned by the 
exertions of the sovereigns to diminish the 
overgrown power of the barons, and by that 
rapid increase of commerce which has been so 
sensibly experienced since the beginning of 
the sixteenth century. But in Ireland, if 
there was any movement in the state of so- 
ciety, it was retrograde : the people were too 
poor, and thought themselves too insignificant, 
to make any effort' to ameliorate their con- 
dition, or to take any pains to acquire know- 
ledge. 

Besides, in other countries learning had 
revived ; the classic pages of antiquity had 
been unfolded to men of letters, and the 
very vulgar began to shake off their le- 
thargy and ask instruction. But in this coun- 
try there was no seat of learning, no school 
of science, no keen disputants to sharpen 
the intellects of their countrymen ; no Lu- 
ther to arouse their passions ; nor a Knox 
to achieve, by the force of his rude elo- 
quence, their deliverance from ecclesiastical 
bondage. Whilst the rest of Europe was 



ON IRELAND. 123 

awakened, and its inhabitants divided by 
theological controversy, they remained in a 
state of ignorance, poverty, and oppression. 
During this period it may be said with truth, 
that 

Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, 
Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll ; 

Chill penury repressed their noble rage, 
And froze the genial current of the soul. 



124 OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. VII 



ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON THE REFORMATION, 
AND ON THE CAUSES BY WHICH ITS PROGRESS 
IN IRELAND HAS BEEN RETARDED. 

JN ATIONS resemble individuals as to thepro- 
gress of the reasgning powers : the human mind 
is slowly matured; its principles and faculties 
are gradually unfolded; and its complete cul- 
tivation and expansion are only the result of 
patient discipline. Nature, when she presents 
a flower to our view, exhibits it complete in 
all its parts ; but she occupies time in bringing 
it to its full maturity. 

But circumstances, we have seen, occurred in 
Ireland to counteract this beautiful state of pro- 
gressive advancement to happiness and perfec- 
tion. It was, however, whilst these circumstances 
operated with all their force, that the reformation 
under Henry VIII. was advancing in England, 
and that its friends attempted to introduce it 
to this country. " The spirit of religious dis- 
ic quisition had indeed forced its way into 
" Ireland, with the succession of English set- 



ON IRELAND* 125 

" tiers, so that in the famous parliament of 
" the tenth year of Henry the Seventh, laws 
" had been enacted to prevent the growth of 
" Lollardism and heresy. But such seeds of 
" reformation found an unfavourable soil, and 
" could scarcely spring up with any consider- 
61 able degree of extent and vigour. Ireland 
" was not a place for those circumstances to 
" operate, which favoured the first reformers 
" in other parts of Europe. A people not 
" connected by one and the same system of 
" polity, and for the most part strangers to the 
" refinements and advantages of the political 
" union ; harrassed by a perpetual succession 
" of petty wars, distracted by mutual jealousy, 
" and the most civilized among them living 
" in continual alarm, and daily called out to 
" repel invasion ; could have little leisure for 
" speculation, and little disposition for those 
" enquiries, which were pursued with such 
" avidity in countries more composed. The 
" people had severely felt the oppression of the 
" clergy; but what in other countries appeared 
" the capital and leading grievance, was but 
" one of those oppressions which this land 
" experienced. Others were more grievous, 
" and required more immediate redress. When 
" Europe had declared almost unanimously 
" against the yoke of ecclesiastical power, a 



126 OBSERVATIONS 

" slight attempt made in one province of Ire- 
" land, to circumscribe the privileges of the 
" clergy, raised a most violent and insolent 
" clamour among the order, although it 
" amounted to nothing more than empower- 
" ing the civil magistrate to imprison eccle- 
" siastical debtors. 

" Had the generous policy prevailed of col- 
" lecting all the inhabitants into one body of 
" English subjects, a union and pacification of 
a ages, must have prepared the people for the 
" reformation now proposed ; but among the 
" fatal consequences of excluding the old 
" natives from the pale of English law, blind-' 
" ness and bigotry proved the natural conse- 
" quences of a disquieted, uncivilized, and 
" dissolute mode of living : and the irregulari- 
" ties in the ecclesiastical constitution of 
" Ireland, naturally resulting from the odious 
" and absurd distinction of its inhabitants, 
*• contributed in no small degree to confirm 
" the people in the grossest ignorance, and, of 
" consequence, in the meanest superstition. 
" In those dioceses where law and civility 
" were most prevalent, the prelates found it 
" impossible to extend their pastoral care or 
" jurisdiction to the districts occupied by the 
u old natives. In these districts, where war 
" and confusion chiefly raged, the appoint- 



ON IRELAND. 127 

ment of prelates and pastors was sometimes 
totally neglected. 

" A clergy without discipline or knowledge, 
and a laity without instruction, were, in pro- 
portion to their ignorance, abjectly attached 
to the papal authority ; the only authority in 
religion, which they had been accustomed 
to reverence ; and which, for the first time, 
they now heard impeached with astonish* 
ment and horror. And one peculiar pre- 
judice there was in favour of the see of 
Rome, which operated equally on the Irish, 
and even on the more enlightened of the 
English race. Ireland had been for ages 
considered, and industriously represented 
as a fief of the pope, in right of the church 
of Saint Peter. By virtue of this imaginary 
right, the seigniory of this kingdom, it was 
well known, had been conferred on Henry 
the Second. The Irish parliament had oc- 
casionally acknowledged this to be the only 
legitimate foundation of the authority of the 
crown of England. It was, therefore, ac- 
counted more especially profane and damna- 
ble, to deny the authority of the Pope, even 
in his own inheritance; and that a prince 
entrusted with this inheritance, for the pro- 
tection of religion, should disclaim his 
father and his sovereign, and impiously 



128 OBSERVATIONS 

" violate the stipulations of his ancestor, by 
" which alone he was entitled to any authority 
" or pre-eminence in Ireland/'* 

The attempt at reformation in this country, 
was in a great measure fiustrated from the very 
circumstance of its being premature. It was 
not at a time when thebod}^of the people were 
ignorant of all religion, that an effort should 
have been made to change the form of their 
ecclesiastical government. No plan of reform 
is likely to succeed at any time, unless it be 
the effect, rather than the cause, of national 
intelligence and improvement. If a number 
of able, enlightened, and pious ministers, had 
been previously employed to instruct the peo- 
ple ; or if, even then, any attempt had been 
made to remove the gross darkness of the 
natives by communicating religious knowledge 
in their own language, together with other 
conciliating measures to remove their prejudi- 
ces, perhaps the hopes of the reformers might 
not have been so utterly disappointed. But 
there were few of the clergy, who were very 
deeply interested in the business. Browne, 
Archbishop of Dublin, was certainly upright 
and zealous in the cause ; he laboured in- 
cessantly with all his ecclesiastics to enlighten 

* LelancTs History of Ireland, v. ii. p. 158, 159. 



ON IRELAND. 129 

the people, and reform the church ; but he 
laboured with few coadjutors, equally disinter- 
ested in this important service ; and he was in 
the bosom of a church, the majority of whose 
clergy was ignorant, prejudiced, and corrupt, 
and whose inveterate rancour and hostility 
were directed against all who exposed the 
absurdities of the superstition of Rome. Be- 
sides, it unfortunately happened, that at this 
very time, Cromer occupied the see of Ar- 
magh, a man of some learning, of more zeal, 
and of unbounded influence. He harangued 
his suffragans, he inflamed their prejudices, 
he entreated, he commanded them as they 
regarded their eternal salvation, not to deny 
the holy faith, nor to embrace a heretical doc- 
trine, which was utterly damnable. Such 
inflammatory addresses were not necessary to 
awaken the enthusiasm of the people, to con- 
firm the bigotry of the priests, or to induce 
both to make an invincible opposition to 
opinions imported from the English nation. 

This circumstance of itself was sufficient to 
excite the hatred of the native Irish. Their 
church they maintained to be ancient ; to have 
been originally founded in apostolic purity by 
Saint Patrick ; to be under the more peculiar 
care of the holy Roman pontiff; to permit-any 
changes, therefore, to be made in its order and 

K 



ISO OBSERVATIONS 

government by men who had invaded their 
country and dethroned and extirpated their 
princes, was deemed not merely infamous, but 
eternally fatal. The multitude, indeed, were 
not capable of entering deeply into disquisi- 
tions of any kind ; it was enough for them that 
they had always hated the strangers, as they still 
call the English in their own tongue ; and that 
they felt themselves equally prejudiced against 
their language, their customs, and their new 
religion. 

To perceive fully the extent of these preju- 
dices, it should be recollected that at this time 
few of the natives were included in the pale ; 
that is, the whole population of Ireland, that 
of five or six counties excepted, were not 
English subjects, they were divided into clans, 
and governed by their respective chiefs. A 
great part of this multitude had never seen 
Englishmen ; they had only heard of their al- 
leged cruelties ; they were, therefore, fully pre- 
pared to oppose the religious tenets of men, 
whom they considered as enemies. Besides, 
their chieftains still adhered to the ancient 
mode of worship ; and their priests, igno- 
rant as they were, knew well enough how 
to address themselves to their fears — how to 
alarm their imagination at the prospect of a 
change. — But there was one circumstance 
connected with the situation of this people, 



ON IRELAND. 131 

which should be particularly attended to : they 
were totally unacquainted with the English 
tongue. The Irish language, the only one 
which they knew, was generally predominant 
in the reign of Henry the Seventh, even in the 
pale.* Now, it is most certain, that no instruc- 
tors of the reformed religion were capable of 
addressing them in this dialect ; they were, 
therefore, abandoned to their own ignorance 
and prejudice. The idea of making a complete 
reformation in Ireland does not seem to have 
occurred to any one under this reign. They 
confined their attention to that part of the 
island which was subject to the government 
and laws of England ; and whether they were 
appalled by the difficulty of the undertaking, 
or discouraged by their ignorance of the Irish 
language, it is certain, that the other part was 
entirely overlooked. Under the following 
reign some patriotic and pious individuals ad- 
dressed the queen on the wretched state of the 
church, and maintained the necessity of pro- 
curing ministers acquainted with the Irish 
tongue. The following is an extract from 
Sir Henry Sidney's letter to Elizabeth, which 
contains these sentiments. 

" And no we most deare mistres, and most 

* Spencers \ie\v of Ireland. Leland's History of Ireland, 
K 2 



1 : 3& OBSERVATIONS 

" honoured soveteigne, I solye addresse to you 
" as the onlye salve giver, to this your sore 
" and sicke realme ; the lamentable estate of 
" the most noble and principall lymm thereof, 
" thechurchel mean, as fovvle, deformed, and 
" as cruellye crushed, as any other part thereof, 
M by your onlye gratious and relygious order 
" to be cured or at least amended." — Sir H. 
Sidney having mentioned the wretched 
state of the Irish church ; and that even in 
the district of Meath, the best inhabited part 
of all the kingdom, " containing 224 pa- 
" rishe churches, 103 are impropriated toson- 
" drie possessions, and all leased out for years, 
" or in feefarme, to severall farmers and great 
" gayne reaped out of them above the rent :" he 
" goes on to propose, that good ministers 
might be found to occupy the places, and 
made able to live in therm ; "in choyce of 
" which ministers for the remote places where 
" the Englishe tounge is not understood, 
w it is most necessarie that soche be chosen as 
" can speake Irishe, for whiche searche would 
" be made first, and spedylie, in your own uni- 
" versities; and any found there well affected 
" in religion, and well conditioned beside, they 
" would be sent hither animated by your majes- 
*' tie ; yea, though it were somewhat to your 
" highness* chardge ; and on perill of my liffe, 
t; you shall fynde it retorned with gayne, before 



ON IRELAND.. 133 

u three yeares be expired : if there be no soche 
* 4 there, or not inough(for I wish tene or twelve 
» fc at the least) to be sent, who might be placed 
4i in offices of dignilie of the churche, in remote 
t; places of this realme. Then I do wishe, (but 
^ this most humblie under your hignes* correc- 
" tion,) that you would write to the regent of 
u Scotlande, where, as f learne, there are maney 
" of the reformed churche, that are of this Ian- 
" guage ; and though for a while your majestie 
" were at somechardge, it were well bestowed, 
" for, r in shorte tyme, thousands would begayn- 
u ed to Christ, that nowe are lost, or left at the 
" woorst." 

It does not appear that this princess ever acted 
on the salutary principles recommended by this 
gentleman. It is not too much to say, that if 
the plan here proposed had met with approba- 
tion and countenance, the majority of the 
people of Ireland would, at this day, have been 
virtuous, industrious, and enlightened protes- 
tants. 

It generally happens in the course of human 
affairs that one evil is productive of many : and 
the circumstance to which I allude, has pro- 
duced effects, the injurious influence of which, 
is felt to the present day. For in consequence 
of the ill concerted and inadequate measures 
which the government of Ireland,in conjunction 
with the reformers, pursued, almost the whole 



134 OBSERVATIONS 

of the Irish population were left in the hands 
of a foreign power, whose emissaries were 
numerous, subtile, and artful ; and who could 
not but be successful where there were scarcely 
any to oppose, and among a people , already 
prepossessed in their favour. 

In the first place, the natives were by this 
means confirmed in their attachment to the 
church of Rome. — They had, before this, 
thought little on the subject ; nor had they any 
particular reason to view with affectionate pre- 
possession the holy pontiff, who, in the pleni- 
tude of his apostolic authority, had made a 
grant of their country to foreigners. But they 
were now received under his sacred protection ; 
and taught to regard him, not merely as their 
spiritual father, whose decisions were infallible, 
and whose authority was inviolable, but as their 
earthly prince and sovereign, whom alone they 
were bound to obey. They were confirmed in 
these sentiments by Italian and Spanish priests, 
as well as by their own pastors, who had re- 
ceived at foreign seminaries their education, 
and who returned admiring the splendor of that 
hierarchy, which they were ambitious to re-es- 
tablish. And here it is impossible not to animad- 
vert on that narrowness of principle, and that 
inexpedient proscription which excluded the 
youth of almost a whole nation from both the 



ON IRELAND. 135 

Irish and English colleges, and compelled them 
to go in quest of learning among a people whose 
prevailing maxims and opinions were hostile to 
civil and religious liberty. What plan could be 
more rep etc with evil, or more permanently 
repugnant to the improvement, happiness, and 
subordination of the people ? They were igno- 
rant, and we refused them the means of instruc- 
tion ; we accused them of ferocious barbarity, 
and at the same time denied them the opportu- 
nity of emerging into civilization. Thus, their 
attachment to that church was necessarily in- 
creased, whose universities alone afforded them 
all the academical education which it was in 
their power to obtain. 

I am far from thinking that this evil is com- 
pletely obviated in more modern times by the 
establishment of a Roman Catholic college at 
Maynooth. It is true, there can be no compari- 
son between ignorant priests and catholic, teach- 
ers who are enlightened and let a protestant go- 
vernment, by all means, support a popish semina- 
ry, rather than leave the teachers of this religion 
destitute of all education. But I feel persuaded, 
that in every point of view, a greater good would 
be obtained by opening the doors of the Irish 
university to students of every description. This 
measure would make protestants and papists 
better acquainted, and would certainly diminish 



136 OBSERVATIONS 

that unchristian rancour with which the minds 
of both parties have been sufficiently embued. 
It also may be presumed, without any disrespect 
to Maynooth, that it would afford the exclud- 
ed party greater academical advantages, than at 
present they can enjoy. 

I am aware that, in the English and Irish col- 
leges, Roman catholics at present are allowed to 
attend lectures, though not permitted to take 
degrees : and many gentlemen do avail them- 
selves of this privilege. But it is only a few 
who can be supposed willing to place them- 
selves in circumstances where they labour under 
marked disabilities ; where there can be little 
mulation, since the reward of merit is denied. 
The catholics, therefore, as well as all classes 
of dissenters, justly consider themselves as 
excluded from the Dublin university. 

Secondly; another evil which the circum- 
stances to which I have referred have produced, 
is, a general prejudice against the English 
government. This was the natural and neces- 
sary effect of that state of things to which al- 
lusion has now been made. The priests 
strengthened this impression by inculcating the 
most absurd of all tenets, and by associating 
these tenets with devotional feelings : they 
taught the universal monarchy of the pope, as 
well civil as spiritual ; his authority to excorn- 



ON IRELAND. 137 

municate and depose princes, to absolve sub- 
jects from their oath of allegiance, and to 
dispense with every law of God and man, to 
sanctify rebellion and murder, and even to 
change the very nature and essential differences 
of vice and virtue. All this absurdity was not ne- 
cessary to confirm the inveterate hostility of men 
to that government, which they had always 
conceived as foreign, from whose ministers they 
confessedly received many provocations, and to 
which they had never been fully reconciled. 
It is to this prejudice, which, in many instances, 
has not yet been effaced, that we are to trace 
some of the evils which afflict Ireland. Hence 
also it is, that the native Irish continue to dis- 
like Englishmen. To me, in their own lan- 
guage, they frankly acknowleged their antipathy 
to this nation. They sometimes spoke of them as 
men who had iniquitously despoiled them of the 
land of their fathers, and who had, at the same 
time, persecuted them on account of their reli- 
gion.* 

Far from me be the illiberal desire of exciting 
prejudice against a people whose interests I 
sincerely wish to promote. In making these 
remarks, my only object is to shew, that the 
circumstances in which. the Irish have been 

* See Chapter III. 



1:8 OBSERVATIONS 

placed, had a natural tendency to produce this 
effect. And though this unhappy result is, I 
am persuaded, considerably removed already, 
yet it is in the power of our government to 
destroy it. altogether. What a change in this 
respect was effected in the Highlands in the 
course of twenty years after the rebellion ! 
Education, and that kind treatment which 
a liberal policy has dictated, have placed the 
inhabitants among the best friends to order, 
subordination, and government.* They are 
now proud to be ranked among the most 
faithful and efficient supporters of that illus- 
trious house, with which is associated, in 
the mind of every Briton, those invaluable 
blessings, for which '• our Hampdens and 
t>ut Sidneys bled." These are the glorious 
consequences of conciliating measures, of an 
enlightened education, and of christian instruc- 
tion. In less than thirty years the same re- 
sult will take place in Ireland, if the same means 
be employed for its production ; and the mil- 
lions of our fellow subjects in that country will 
crowd around the standard of British freedom 
and maintain its honour in opposition to the 
whole world. This is not mere speculation ; 

* How greatly is the public indebted to that Christian 
society by whose benevolent exertions these happy effects, 
have been produced \ 



ON IRELAND. 139 

for the experiment has already been tried on a 
small scale, and the effect is such as has now 
been described. A native Irishman in the 
county of — — when he read, for the first time 
in his life, a New Testament, which a benevo- 
lent gentleman put into his hands, exclaimed, 
" If I believe this, it is impossible for me to 
" remain a rebel/' Behold the means which a 
beneficent providence has appointed to make 
good men and good citizens ! 

It is unnecessary to inform the people of this 
country, that in Ireland many of the natives have 
never heard of the Bible, and comparatively few 
of them have ever seen it. There was, indeed, 
a translation made of the scriptures into Irish, 
under the direction of Bedel, bishop of Lis- 
more, about a hundred and forty years ago ; but 
most of the edition then published was distri- 
buted in the Highlands, and it has for a long- 
time been out of print.* Ignorance and super- 
stition of the very grossest kind prevail ; and 
these present a barrier to every species of im- 
provement.-)* Truth obliges me to acknow- 
ledge, that some of the popish priests of the 
present day have endeavoured to render per- 
manent this melancholy state of degradation. 

* The British and Foreign Bible Society have lat el y printed 
an edition of the New Testament of this translation, and is 
tiow in circulation. The people receive it with gratitude- 
*f See note G. 



140 OBSERVATIONS 

By this I do not mean merely to say, that they 
have resisted any casual attempt to make pro- 
selytes ; for this is only that which consistency 
seems to require ; but they have systematically 
opposed the instruction of their people in any 

possible form. Mr. in the parish of 

when bibles were put into the hands of his pa- 
rishioners ordered them, on the pain of excom- 
munication, to commit them to the flames. — 
The standard of morals among people who are 
placed in such unfavourable circumstances must 
necessarily be low. Accordingly, the lower 
order of Roman Catholics, form their judgment 
in many instances, of the merit or demerit of an 
action, either from its supposed connection with 
the prison and the gallows, or from its being deem- 
ed venial or deadly by their confessor. 

I am far, however, from wishing to insinuate 
that all the priests are of the description to 
which I have now referred. Many of them, no 
doubt, are enlightened men, and are friends of 
knowledge and improvement; and to such cha- 
racters, whether papists or protestants, it is 
consoling to think, that no influence, however 
powerful, and no authority, however imposing, 
is able to repress that desire for information, 
which, in some parts of Ireland, has begun to 
awaken and animate the inhabitants. In the 
progress of society there is a period, at which 
all opposition to its advancement in civilization 



ON IRELAND. HI 

and happiness, only tends to accelerate that 
motion which the impulse of concurring cir- 
cumstances had originally communicated. 

In adverting to the causes which have ob- 
structed the progress of the reformation in 
Ireland, there is one, which though of less 
importance, is not unworthy of notice. Ever 
since the conquest, and especially between the 
reign of Elizabeth and William, many of the 
native chieftains had forfeited their estates: 
their property was distributed among strangers, 
who had no influence with the people, and 
whose opinions in religious matters must be 
totally disregarded, A few of the old families 
still remained; but most of these were strongly 
attached to popery. The people were, there- 
fore, wholly resigned to the management of 
priests. The progress of the reformation in 
the Highlands, in the first instance, was very 
much owing to the power and influence of the 
chieftains. The first of these, in point of im- 
portance, the Duke of Argyle, was distinguished 
for his opposition to the hateful tyranny of 
the Stuart family. Others, possessed of the 
same patriarchal authority, imitated the exam- 
ple which this patriotic nobleman set before 
them, and like him, accustomed their vas- 
sals to regard the jurisdiction of the pope 
as usurped and antichristian. Their power 

2 



142 OBSERVATIONS 

was in those days unlimited, and their influ- 
ence, as the father, fnend, and protector of 
their people, gave an importance to their opi- 
nions on any subject, which few would presume 
to controvert. Accordingly, when any chieftain 
professed himself of the reformed religion, 
almost the whole of his clan immediately re- 
jected the papal authority. But very different 
was the case in Ireland: the people there, in 
many instances, were as sheep without a shep- 
herd: and where there was an old chieftain 
remaining, his authority was unfortunately all 
directed to confirm his people in error and 
superstition. 

Nor had the penal statutes, by which politi- 
cians intended to diminish popery, any influence 
in accomplishing this end. Let us only again 
recal to our recollection, the circumstances in 
which these laws were framed, the people by 
w r hom they were administered, and the inveterate 
irritation of those whose conversion they were 
designed to effect, and we shall be fully satisfied 
of their pernicious rather than their salutary 
tendency. But as I have assigned a chapter 
to the distinct consideration of this subject, it 
were improper to enter upon it in this place. 

Is it now asked what means are most likely 
to effect the reformation in Ireland ? Those 
very means which ought mor° than a century 



ON IRELAND. I iif 

ago to have been employed, and which I have 
had occasion repeatedly to recommend in these 
pages : I mean moral and religious instruction. 
This instruction must be conveyed through 
the medium of that language which is under- 
stood, and by the ordinary mode of early edu- 
cation, as well as from the pulpit. These are 
the means of moral improvement, which, if 
prudently and extensively employed, will, in 
the course of a very few years, accomplish in 
the neighbouring isle the most important re- 
formation. 



144 -OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. VIIL 



ON THE PROGRESS OF ENGLISH LAW AND GO* 
VERNMENT IN IRELAND. 

THE administration of justice in any country 
has too much influence on the morals, the com- 
fort, and safety of its inhabitants not to merit the 
most particular investigation. Nor is it enough 
to examine what institutions have been esta- 
blished, what forms of jurisprudence have been 
sanctioned, what code of laws has been enacted; 
we should inquire how these institutions are 
respected, and how these laws are enforced. 

The few observations which it is in my power 
to offer on the subject of this chapter I shall ar- 
range under the following particulars. First, I 
shall inquire how far the law and political insti- 
tutions of England were established in the pale* 
secondly, make some remarks on the nature 
and tendency of the Brehon, or Irish laws ; and 
thirdly, on the abolition of these laws, and the 
universal progress and establishment of those of 
England. 

I. It is not very probable that those adventurers 
who first settled in Ireland,had any correct ideas 



ON IRELAND; 145 

of civil polity of any kind. Full of the pride of 
their country, and possessed of those inveterate 
prejudices which nationality founded on a mix* 
ture of patriotism and ignorance inspire, they 
were determined to adhere to its general man- 
ners and customs, without perhaps any definite 
notion of its government* But this state of 
things could not long continue ; irregularities 
would naturally occur, which must be correct- 
ed ; grievances which must be redressed ; and 
the safety of the colony required that a few sim- 
ple and obvious laws should be enforced. 
Whilst, indeed, the English continued merely 
soldiers, which was for a considerable time after 
their original settlement, any other laws than 
those of the military life w T ouldbe little regard^ 
ed. The parent country, however, ultimately 
interfered, assumed the sovereignty of the con- 
quest that had been made, and exercised its 
authority by appointing a governor, who should 
rule and protect the infant society. 

The English colony experienced various for- 
tunes, placed as it was in the bosom of a hos- 
tile, turbulent, and divided nation. Under an 
able and faithful lord deputy, its interests rapid* 
ly flourished ; its territories were increased ; 
its pow T er and opulence were enlarged ; and its 
enemies, though never wholly subjugated, were 
resisted and appalled. But there were various 

L 



14-6 •BSERVATIONS 

circumstances connected with its situation, 
which powerfully counteracted the progress of 
order and civilization, and which, more than 
once, threatened its entire destruction. The 
barons, like those of every other country in 
Europe, were high-spirited, restless, and aspir- 
ing; their notions of civility and subordination 
were but little calculated for the advancement 
of either: and their manners, formed amid 
scenes of turbulence and faction, were, like the 
times in which they lived, rude and barbarous. 
At a distance from the power of the prince, 
their licentious ambition had scarcely any re- 
straint ; and not being awedby the presence of the 
monarch, they were the less anxious to yield obe- 
dience to his representative. Besides, the hos- 
tilities in which they were constantly engaged, 
and the opportunities of plundering with impuni- 
ty which these hostilities afforded them, together 
with their own mutual jealousies, and feuds, and 
encounters, had no tendency to improve their 
dispositions, or to polish the asperities of their 
ferocious character. 

It also unfortunately happened that in those 
times the deputies entered on their office rather to 
enrich themselves than to advance the public 
good. " At a distance from the supreme seat of 
" power, and with the advantage of being able to 
" make such representations of the state of Ire- 



ON IRELAND.* 147 

and as they pleased, they acted with the less re- 
(i serve. They were generally tempted to under- 
" take the conduct of a disordered state, for the 
wt sake of private emolument; and their object 
" was pursued without delicacy or integrity, 
" sometimes with inhuman violence."* In the 
annals of Irish history previous to the reign of 
Elizabeth, few English vicegerents are mention- 
ed, whose measures were conciliating, whose 
conduct was upright, and whose administration 
successful. " The representations ofthecon- 
" duct of the Irish people sent to England were 
" generally false and interested, to magnify the 
" zeal of the great lords, to procure remittances 
" for a chief governor, or to conceal the offen- 
" ces and irregularities of either. The English 
" vicegerents, even of the very best dispositions, 
" were kept in ignorance during their residence, 
" and shut up in the seat of government from 
" any knowledge of the native Irish, or any ge- 
" neral intercourse even with the most peaceable 
" among them."-|- 

These circumstances combined, produced that 
shocking depravation of manners, that unbridled 
licentiousness, which continued and increased 
till the reign of Henry the seventh, which ena- 
bled the natives to overrun- with impunity the 

* Leland's History of Ireland. 

* Ibid. 

L 2 



148 OBSERVATIONS 

territories of the pale, and again to take posses- 
sion of that land, which had been unjustly wrest- 
ed from their fathers. The English colonists 
were now, for the most part, perfectly assimila- 
ted in customs, deportment, dress and supersti- 
tions, to that people whom they had originally 
despised. 

During this period law could have little force 
with men who scarcely acknowledged its autho- 
rity, and who certainly had never been in cir- 
cumstances where they could feel its advantage. 
Yet, it is probable, that assemblies similar to 
parliaments were appointed ever since the con- 
quest of Ireland; and it is certain, that the first 
printed statutes of the Irish legislature, appear- 
ed in the third year of Edward the second.* The 
enactments of this supreme court were often 
made subservient to the private purposes of 
the governor: the meeting itself was inconve- 
niently frequent ; and hence, to counteract 
these evils, the people unanimously agreed to 
the famous statute of Poyning. Though the 
English law had always been established in the 
pale, the manners of its inhabitants frequently 
made its observance impossible ; many conform- 
ed to the Brehon institutions, assumed the name 
and appearance of the natives, since their robbq- 

* L eland's History of Ireland. 



ON IRELAND.' 14-9 

p 

lies and crimes might be expiated by an incon- 
siderable fine. When every vassal felt that his 
safety entirely depended on the military prow- 
ess of the baron to whose interests he had at- 
tached himself; and the chieftain, that his secu- 
rity proceeded from the number and conse- 
quence of his followers ; the ordinary course of 
justice must have been obstructed, and its exe- 
cution rendered altogether impracticable. It 
was to furnish a remedy for these evils, and to 
prevent the total extinction of the English race, 
that the parliament of Kilkenny made several 
laws, certainly severe towards the Irish, but, 
perhaps, necessary to the very existence of the 
colony. " Still the power of the great lords 
" was superiour to the laws, who not only d^- 
" spised, but openly resisted the authority of 
" government; and when disobliged by the 
" least neglect, or tempted by any prospect of 
" advantage, continued to assume the part of in- 
" dependent chieftains." 

It was not till the reign of Henry the seventh 
that the vigorous administration of the governor 
enabled him to enforce the obedience of the 
subject, and not till that of his successor that the 
territories of the pale were extended. Under 
this latter reign, all the old English, and many 
of the Irish, were partly persuaded, and partly 
forced to submit to the laws of England. Ex- 



1.50 OBSERVATIONS 

tensive districts both in Munster and in Con- 
naught, were divided into counties, and to these 
sheriffs were apppointed for the regular admi- 
nistration of justice. Robberies and murders 
were now punished capitally; order and sub- 
ordination consequently began to prevail. The 
effects of the severe and vindictive character of 
Henry were felt even in Ireland ; the haughty 
barons began to be sensible that they had no 
longer to deal with the w r eak, corrupt, and con- 
temptible administrations of former times, and 
that their safety depended on the observance of 
those statutes and laws, whose authority they 
could not but acknowledge. Elizabeth was 
still more successful in advancing this most ne- 
cessary work of reformation. She was naturally 
vain, and she was flattered by the prospect of 
making a complete and useful conquest of Ire- 
land. Though some atrocities were committed 
under her reign, and more lives lost than for 
centuries before, she doubtless had the merit of 
advancing civilization, of removing obstructions 
to the security and happiness of the subject, 
and of extending the English law to the whole 
body of the Irish people. It is to this period, 
then, that we are to refer the abolition of the 
Brehon, and the universal establishment of the 
English law. 

II. The Brehon laws, or laws of the judges, 



ON IRELAND. Ijl 

which were common to all the aborigines of 
Ireland, consist of a few rules, suited to an early 
and turbulent state of society. The first of them 
was that of Tanhlry, by w hich, on the death of a 
prince or chieftain, the strongest in his family,or 
the most accomplished according to the notions 
and rude manners of the times, was appointed to 
succeed him in his property and government. 
By this acknowledged maxim, it was intended 
that the clan should never want a powerful pro- 
tector, who should avenge their injuries, and de- 
fend them from the hostile encroachment oftheir 
restless neighbours. The evils, however, which 
it might originally be designed to avert, it was 
of itself evidently calculated to perpetuate and 
increase : it produced feuds and animosities 
without number, and the contest could scarcely 
ever be decided without having recourse to the 
sword. And, perhaps,it is to this custom chiefly 
that we ought to attribute that imbeciility of go- 
vernment, and that endless division of interest, 
which enabled a few adventurers to achieve the 
conquest of Ireland. 

Gavelkind, refers to a custom, or law common 
only to the vassals."* On the death of any 
member of a family, the whole stock was divi- 
ded, whether it consisted of moveables or of 

* See note A. 



152 OBSERVATIONS 

land, among all the surviving branches. The 
design of this law evidently was, to make pro- 
vision for every individual of the clan; and 
also to retain a multitude of people, who 
should be ready to attend the chief on any 
emergency. But it was fraught with evil : for 
it must have operated as a powerful impedi- 
ment to industry, and as an incentive to an 
inconvenient multiplication of the species. 
And though war, and famine, and disease, the 
ordinary attendants of rude society, and of an 
overgrown population, must have greatly ten- 
ded to obviate the last of these evils, yet, it 
would be felt when peace, and order, and 
subordination, and all the other fruits of civili- 
zed society, began to prevail. 

Early marriage was the natural consequence 
of gavelkind ; since every new family was to 
be provided out of the common stock ; at least 
was to have a share of the land belonging to 
the clan. The ordinary checks to the early 
union of the sexes were withdrawn ; for when 
the hut was built, provision was already made 
for the future progeny. 

I have had already occasion to remark, that 
customs, especially such as nearly regard the 
habits of life, remain long after the particular 
circumstances, from which they had their 
origin, are forgotten. This is more especially 
the case in those countries where no sudden, 



ON IRELAND. 153 

revolutions occur to influence the progress of 
society. Now, it appears to me, that though 
the Brehon laws have been abolished for two 
centuries, some of the practices on which they 
were founded, and some of the consequences 
arising out. of that state of society, to which 
alone they could be applicable, may still be 
traced in Ireland. Every modern traveller in 
this island, has remarked the infinite division 
of land, the opportunities which this circum- 
stance affords to early marriages, and conse- 
quently the vast and rapidly increasing extent 
of the population. The two last of these cir- 
cumstances generally, if not always, result from 
the first; it is to the origin of this, therefore, 
that our chief attention should be directed. 
Here it is not enough to say, that the Brehon 
laws occasioned the introduction of the pecu- 
liarity in question: they indeed sanctioned it ; 
but they were the result of a rude and tur- 
bulent state of society ; and after they were 
^established, their influence tended to make 
permanent, that which was only accidental. 
The truth is, the Brehon, the Allodial, and 
Feudal systems, are in some things very analo- 
gous, because they have had their origin in 
circumstances nearly, if not quite similar. 
On this subject the remark of Dr f Smith i$ 
undoubtedly true — " that such effects must 
* s flow from such causes." 



154 OBSERVATIONS 

It is very certain, that the native Irish con- 
tinue to this day the practice of their fathers 
with regard to the division of land ; and their 
opinions, and prejudices, and habits, concur to 
make it still more permanent. The extreme 
facility with which they can erect a cottage, 
and procure potatoe land, which form all the 
competency they look for, induce them at an 
early life to form matrimonial connections, with- 
out any perplexing anxiety as to**consequences. 
The system of dividing and letting lands, has, 
from the nature of the case, been much abused 
in modern times : it deprives the landlord of a 
great part of his revenue, whilst it grievously 
oppresses the several gradations of occupiers. 
It is in vain, however, to exclaim against the 
abuses connected with this practice ; before 
these can be removed the state of society must 
be considerably changed : knowledge and edu- 
cation must in some degree be enjoyed ; the 
desire of improving the condition must be 
excited ; then, both proprietors and tenants will 
feel the happy impulse which growing pros- 
perity, and opulence, and comfort, communicate. 
These remarks may be confirmed by a refe- 
rence to the state of the Highlands fifty years 
ago, and by comparing it with the present im- 
proved condition of that country. A species of 

7 



ON IRELAND. \55 

Gavelkind was then verv common in all the 
northern districts of Scotland. Not only was 
the land common among all the occupiers on a 
farm, * and consequently unimproved ; but it 
was divided successively among all the young 
branches of the several families of which the 
hamlet was composed. The power of the chief- 
tain depended not on his wealth, but on the 
number of men he could command ; and it was 
his interest, therefore, to encourage population, 
and, at the same time, the practice by /which 
that population must be supported. " Mr. 
" Cameron of Lochiel, whose rent never exceed- 
" ed five hundred pounds a year, carried, in 
" 17*5, eight hundred of his own people into 
" the rebellion with him." But no sooner was 
education generally introduced into the High- 
lands, and the desire of improving the con- 
dition, so powerful in human nature, excited, 
than this patriarchal or feudal system began to 
disappear ; and at the present day, there are not 
many traces to be discovered, either in farming, 
or in any other department of life, of a state of 
society which at so recent a period was univer- 
sally predominant. 

I have applied the term feudal to that species 
of authority and government exercised by the 

* This is still the case in some parts of the Highlands. 



156 OBSERVATIONS 

highland chieftains, though I am aware that 
these existed long before the feudal system was 
introduced into Britain. " It is a mistake," says 
Dr. Smith, " to imagine that those territorial 
" jurisdictions took their origin from the feudal 
" law. Not only the highest jurisdictions both 
" civil and criminal, but the power of levying 
" troops, of coining money, and even that of 
" making bye-laws for the government of their 
" own people, were all rights possessed allodially 
" by thegreat proprietors of land, several centuries 
" before even the name of the feudal law was 
" known in Europe. The authority and juris- 
" diction of the Saxon lords in England, appear 
11 to have been as great before the conquest, 
" as that of any of the Norman lords after it. 
w But the feudal law is not supposed to have be- 
" come the common law of England till after the 
* c conquest."* 

Let it not be supposed that the change which 
has taken place in the state of society in the 
Highlands is entirely owing to the abolition 
of the feudal laws. To this event, indeed, it 
ought to be attributed, in so far as it has 
removed obstacles to / the progress of know* 
ledge and civilization. This revolution, how- 
ever, is, in truth, the effect of moral and re- 
ligious instruction, combined with that pri- 
mitive simplicity and warm-heartedness, and 
* Wealth of Nations, Vol. IL p. 122, 



ON IRELAND. 157 

that love of independence and information, 
which so strongly mark the character of the 
Highlanders. 

Now, why has not the same happy result 
taken place in Ireland ? Because its inhabitants 
have not been put in possession of the same 
enlightened education ; they have not had the 
same moral and religious instruction. The state 
of society, therefore, of the sixteenth century 
has in some degree been continued to the present 
period, and has produced the whole race of mid- 
dle-men, so obstructive to the agricultural im- 
provement of the country. How then are we 
to get rid of this noxious tribe ? By exchang- 
ing those circumstances in which they are pro- 
duced for others in which they cannot possibly 
exist. Raise the condition of the lower orders 
of the people, and this effect will necessarily 
follow : — But how is this to be done ? I still 
recur to the same omnipotent principle, an en- 
lightened education , moral and religious in- 
struction . . 

Before I leave the subject of the Brehon laws, 
I must take notice of the Eric, or the fine that 
was imposed on all criminals, proportioned to 
the degree of guilt attached to the crime. The 
word itself signifies a compensation ;* and is 

* This is evidently its signification in that passage of the 
Holy Scriptures, in which our Saviour says, TV hat shall a 



\58 OBSERVATIONS 

common to the Gaelic as well as to the Irish 
language. Its use is now almost confined solely 
to theology, and denotes that ransom which the 
Saviour paid to rescue mankind from spiritual 
bondage. The practice to which it refers was 
common at one period to the eastern nations : and 
it is to this that reference is made in the book 
of Job, where it is said, " Skin for skin ; yea, 
" all that a man hath will he give for his life." 
In Ireland, the eric was admitted as a compen- 
sation for every crime ; the only thing left to the 
decision of the judge, was the extent of this fine. 
If the offender could not be found, the clan or 
family to which he belonged were obliged to give 
the required satisfaction to the aggrieved party ; 
and this ransom was divided between them and 
their chieftain.* 

The practice of plundering and living on booty 
prevails among all rude nations : it is not thought 
dishonourable to carry off the cattle of any 
neighbouring hostile tribe. The people are ear- 
ly accustomed to pilfer ; they depend greatly for 
their sustenance on spoil : a habit that is com- 
mon to all is thought disgraceful by none ; and 
the united members of the clan carry on their 
little plans of depredation with as much ease and 

man give in exchange for his soul ? Ciod a bheir duine mar 
eric arson anma? 

* See note H. 



ON IRELAND. 159 

self-complacency, as more polished nations 
burn and destroy the property of one another. 
Hence it is, that the Highlander who had the 
virtue to refuse a reward of thirty thousand 
pounds for the Pretender, did not conceive the 
less of his character for stealing a cow ; and this 
crime, which among us is punished by death, he 
would consider, if, indeed, it was associated in 
his mind with any guilt, as expiable by an in- 
considerable compensation. It was in circum- 
stances similar to those in which this Highlander 
was placed that the practice of giving an eric 
had its origin ; and perhaps it was the only 
mode that the turbulence of the times ren- 
dered practicable of forcing offenders to afford 
public satisfaction. 

III. We have seen that the Brehon law was first 
abolished in Ireland, and the English established 
under the reign of Elizabeth. To establish a law, 
however, in a conquered country, or even a code 
of laws, and to make the people conform, so as to 
derive the full advantage of such an institution, 
are two very different things. And, accordingly, 
we find that many of the people of this country 
continued for ages after this period, to receive 
no advantage from the laws of that government 
under whose protection they had been admitted. 

The object of law is to prevent the recurrence 
of evils which have already existed ; but that it 
may answer this end, it must be supported by 



160 OBSERVATIONS 

the opinions and convictions of the people. If, 
for example, they are so ignorant as to discover 
no guilt in that deed on which it denounces pu- 
nishment ; or, if generally they have no virtue to 
avoid its commission, then, it is certain, that the 
design of the law, will in a great degree be coun- 
teracted. Now, it happened, that in the reign of 
Elizabeth, and in that of her successor, the 
people were not only remarkably ignorant, but 
from some recent circumstances full of prejudice 
against English government. The penal sta- 
tutes had now been enacted ; and though very 
gently executed, were sufficient to excite the 
antipathy of a people who had only begun to 
acknowledge the authority of a foreign power. 
Hosts of ecclesiastics from France and Spain 
arrived soon after this in Ireland, and confirmed 
this hostility, while they successfully attempted to 
render odious every thing associated with heresy. 
But above all, the circumstances in which the 
people were placed ; ignorant and turbulent, 
unaccustomed to yield obedience to any supe- 
rior except their chieftain, rendered the intro- 
duction of any new laws hazardous, in many 
instances useless. Besides, by observing these 
laws, they were tacitly reminded, as they con- 
ceived, of their subjugation to a power, their 
aversion to which they often openly avowed. 
This prejudice has had considerable influence 
in retarding the progress of civilization. 



ON IRELAND. 161 

On this head there is one circumstance which 
ought not to be omitted, since it is particularly 
noticed by the best of the Irish historians : I al- 
lude to the notorious corruption of the judges 
at the time to which I refer. " In the provinces 
" which had but just now professed to accept 
" the English polity, the execution of the laws 
" was rendered detestable and intolerable by the 
" Queen's officers. Sheriffs purchased their 
" places ; acted, as in Connaught, with inso- 
lence and oppression; spoiled the old inha- 
" bitants, and obliged them to recur to their na- 
" tive chieftains for protection/' Leland men- 
tions the case of a Macmahon, who was accused 
of raising rents in a neighbouring district by 
force of arms, which according to the law of 
England, was declared to be high treason. This 
unhappy chieftain for an offence committed 
before the law which declared it capital had 
been established in his country, was tried, con- 
demned by a jury said to be formed of private 
soldiers, and executed in two days ; to the utter 
consternation of his countrymen. His estate 
was distributed to Sir Sidney Bagnal and other 
adventurers. The condemnation of their chief- 
tain confirmed the Irish in their aversion to 
English polity, which they considered as a sys- 
tem of hateful tyranny and cruelty.* 

* Leland's History of Ireland. 



162 OBSERVATIONS 

These nefarious practices were in a great de- 
gree discontinued under the powerful adminis- 
tration of* Strafford, who with all his bad qualities, 
was certainly a benefactor to Ireland. But at 
his death, the commencement of a civil war, 
which was waged with implacable fury, which 
carried destruction through every part of the 
island, and which lasted till the reign of William, 
put a stop to the progress of regular government, 
and involved the natives in all the barbarity and 
calamities of former ages. This war was at 
once the cause and effect of prejudices and griev- 
ances which estranged the people from th e 
English polity. Nor was that policy by which 
the servants of the crown regulated their conduct 
at all calculated" to remove the former or to 
redress the latter. Their principle was to divide 
the people into two parties, that of loyal and 
affectionate subjects, containing only the late 
adventurers ; and that of the disaffected and 
dangerous, including all the rest of the inhabi- 
tants. The people thus insulted were spirited 
and proud ; and there was an infatuated folly, 
as well as a barbarous iniquity, in provoking them 
yet farther by injustice and oppression. The 
northern plantation, however justified, and well 
devised, was an object necessarily offensive to 
the pride and prejudices of the old Irish ; and 
those among them who submitted and accepted 



ON IRELAND. 1 63 

their portion of lands, complained, that in many 
instances, they had been scandalously defrauded. 
The revival of obsolete claims of the crown, 
harassing of proprietors by fictions of law, dis- 
possessing them by fraud and circumvention, and 
all the various artifices of interested agents and 
ministers, were naturally irritating ; and the 
public discontents must have been further in- 
flamed by the insincerity of Charles, in evading 
the confirmation of (what he called) his graces ; 
the insolence of Strafford in openly refusing it; 
together with the nature and manner of his 
proceedings against the proprietors of Con- 
naught.* 

Though the people of Ireland were completely 
subdued by the powerful arm* of William, these 
prejudices and prepossessions remained : and 
though it is to be presumed that, in general, 
justice has been more impartially administered 
since the reign of this wise prince, yet, it is 
certain, that various circumstances, even since 
this auspicious aera, have obstructed the progress 
of that order, security, and civility, which are 
the result of equal laws. Some of these I have 
noticed elsewhere; ~-\ and shall now take leave 

* Vide Leland, v. iii. p. 88. 

\ Vide Chap. On the progress of the Reformation* 



161 OBSERVATIONS 

of this subject by observing that in the island of 
Tory, in the county of Donegal, the inhabitants 
are still unacquainted with any other law than 
that of the Brehon code. They choose their 
chief magistrate from among themselves ; 
and to his mandate, issued from his throne of 
turf, the people yield a cheerful and ready 
obedience. They are perfectly simple in their 
manners, and live as their fathers had done 
three centuries ago* 



ON IRELAND. 



CHAP. IX. 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED — THE PENAL 
CODE. 

1 HOUGH in the foregoing chapters enough 
has been said to account for the slow progress 
of the reformation in Ireland, it may be proper 
to resume the consideration of the same sub- 
ject as it regards the long period that has 
elapsed between the treaty of Limerick and 
the Union. This period of Irish history, which 
affords so many instructive examples of the 
ignorance and folly of man, and of the baneful 
consequences of bigotry and intolerance, merits 
a much closer and more extended investigation 
than the limits of this essay will admit. 

The Roman Catholics of Ireland have often 
been accused by their protestant brethren of 
the most atrocious cruelty, of an inveterate 
rancour and malignity, of a sanguinary and 
treacherous disposition. During the reign of 
Charles the First, indeed, the leaders of the 
popular party found it expedient to publish 
such charges under every degree of aggrava- 
tion, for the purpose of exciting the fury of the 
multitude against the measures of the king, 

A 



4] OBSERVATIONS 

and facilitating the accomplishment of their own 
designs. Nor were these patriots at all sorry 
when they were informed that a formidable 
rebellion, chiefly among- the catholics, actually 
existed in Ireland, since by this means the 
royal army was divided, the prejudices of the 
people were confirmed, a good opportunity 
presented itself for declaiming against the 
adherents of popery, and penal laws might be 
framed and executed with increasing severity. 
It is easy to assign reasons for their hostility 
to popery, independent of those just grounds 
of complaint which were common to all pro- 
testants. But the hatred which has subsisted 
between the catholics and protestants of Ireland, 
has been so malignant, so long continued, and 
so destructive in its consequences, as to render 
a minute investigation into its origin highly 
instructive. 

Under the reign of Elizabeth, both native 
Irish and Anglo-Hibernians were engaged in 
rebellion; O'Neal and Tyrone in the north, 
and Desmond in the south; not so much on 
account of religion, as from restless ambition. 
This rebellion ended with the forfeiture of 
vast districts in Ulster and Munster \ the former 
of which were given by James the First to 
a colony from Scotland, and the latter chiefly to 
Englishmen. These colonies of course were 
protestant. The dispossessed natives were ca- 



ON IRELAND. [3 

tholics ; and thus was laid a lasting ground 
of jealousy and resentment. — The second me- 
morable Irish rebellion began under the reign 
of Charles the First. This war seems to have 
been chiefly carried on from religious views : the 
horrid massacre of the protestants with which it 
commenced seems to support this idea *. It was 
brought to a termination with a most signal 
vengeance on those engaged in it, by the con- 
quering arms of Cromwell. This occasioned 
other forfeitures to an immense extent. The 
mutual antipathies of protestants and catholics 
were now increased beyond all bounds. The 
cruelties which had been committed by both 
parties, enkindled desires of mutual revenge ; 
the poor catholic, who had been instigated to 
rebellion by Spanish and Italian priests, by 
grievous oppression, by seeing the lands of his 
fathers in the possession of strangers ; who 
had witnessed the massacres of the usurper, 
or the desolations which followed the bloody 
footsteps of his generals; while he laid down 
his arms at the command of the victor, retired 
in silence and in sorrow to his cabin, with 
feelings of implacable hostility, with an earnest 
prayer that Heaven might^avenge his wrongs ; 
the protestant, on the other hand, who had 
seen some of the atrocities committed by the 

* It is generally supposed that there were, about 40,000 
massacred on this occasion. 

A2 



4J OBSERVATIONS 

popish multitude, and who had heard of more, — 
who believed they were influenced by all the 
senseless dogmas of the church of Rome, that 
they were— ever ready to destroy heretics, to 
overturn the established government, to place 
on its ruins the throne of despotism, was in- 
duced, from personal hatred, from a regard 
to the permanent security of his own possessions, 
all of which perhaps had been newly acquired, 
and from a solicitude for the welfare of the 
state, anxiously to devise every possible scheme 
for their oppression. It was while such views 
and feelings divided the population of Ireland, 
that the weak and deceitful James the Second 
appeared in that country, and commenced that 
civil war, which to. Britain confirmed its liber- 
ties, but which to Ireland occasioned political 
and religious bondage. 

Those who flocked to the standard and 
followed the fortunes of this infatuated prince, 
were influenced by various motives. We may 
easily believe that though they were ignorant 
for the greater part, of every religion, they were 
now, by the harsh and cruel measures of their 
enemies, fully confirmed in an inveterate at- 
tachment to the church of Rome. The king to 
whom they had sworn allegiance, who professed 
himself of the catholic faith, and the friend and 
protector of all its adherents, had appeared 
in distres* among them, addressed himself to 



ON IRELAND. [5 

their patriotic, their religious, and generous 
feelings, awakened by his calamities, the best 
and warmest sympathies of their nature, and 
found no difficulty in alluring an affectionate 
people to espouse the cause of a prince who 
was suffering, as they deemed, in the cause of 
truth and righteousness. But there was another 
motive besides religion, which had the chief 
influence with the greater part of his army. 
They expected that the act of settlement 
would be reversed : that by the success of 
James they would be put in possession of 
their paternal inheritance, and that their chiefs, 
who had been ia poverty and exile, would be 
restored to the honours cf their family, and 
the enjoyment of their property. As for the 
priests, who had the majority of the people 
under their controul, and who conceived that 
their predecessors had been most unjustly ejected 
from their livings, they looked for nothing 
less than the total overthrow of the protestant 
church.* They had suffered much themselves 
in adhering to their religion, and many of them 
were now ready to instigate the multitude to 
the commission of the most atrocious cruelties. 
Unfortunately that prince in whose cause they 
had embarked, and under whose auspices they 
anticipated deliverance and victory, cruel and 
vindictive himself, had little inclination to re- 

* Sir William Petty's Political Anatomy of Ireland, p. 313. 



6] OBSERVATIONS 

press the impetuous fury, the unbridled li- 
centiousness of his followers. 

Their adversaries, on the other hand, were 
animated by the enthusiasm and desperate 
courage of men struggling for political ex- 
istence. They expected no indulgence from 
those to whom they themselves had shewn so 
little. Besides, by the forfeitures of the act of 
settlement, under Charles the Second, they 
were in possession of some millions of acres, 
all of which were taken from the Irish natives.* 
This property could only be retained by the 
suppression of these natives and the total de- 
feat of their present leader: so that James 
in fighting for his crown in Ireland, had not 
only to contend with men who were inveterate 
in their hatred to popery, and, therefore, 
desperate in their resolution, but with many 
whose powers of resistance were increased, 
from the consideration of their engaging in 
defence of the lands recently acquired. Never 
was there a conflict carried on with more de- 
termined hostility, with feelings of more im- 
placable revenge, or with a more fearfuj appre- 
hension as to the final result : and the language 
in which a Roman poet eloquently describes 
the destructive effects of that civil war — "qua? — 

* Plowden's Hist, of Ireland.— The forfeitures after the 
battle of the Boyne amounted to 1,060,792 Irish, or 
,1718,307 English acres. 



ON IRELAND. [7 

divina et hunmna cuncta permiscuit, edque 
vecordioe processit, uti studiis civilibus bellum 
atque vastitas Italiee finem faceret," is ap- 
plicable with equal force to this.* 

A race renown'd .«•••• 

Turn'd on themselves with their own hostile swords, 
Of blood by friends, by kindred, parents, spilt, 
One common horror and promiscuous guilt. 

But, see ! her hands on her own vitals seize, 
And no destruction but her own can please. 
Behold her fields unknowing of the plough ! 
Behold her palaces and towers laid low ! 
See where o'erthrown the massy column lies, 
While weeds obscene above the cornice rise. 
Here gaping wide, half-ruin 'd walls remain, 
There mouldering pillars nodding roots sustaia. 
The landscape once in various beauty spread, 
With yellow harvests and the flowery mead, 
Displays a wild uncultivated face, 
Which bushy brakes and brambles vile disgrace. 
No human footstep prints th' untrodden green, 
No cheerful maid nor villager is seen. 
— :^-Nor Pyrrhus' sword, nor Cannes fatal field, 
Such universal desolation yield, f 

With the battle of the Boyne ended the 
hopes of James, 'and those of his party, with 
the treaty of Limerick. That treaty was in 
all respects most honourable to those by whom 
it was framed; by the first article the rights 
and privileges of the whole catholic body of 
Ireland were maintained; " they shall enjoy 

* Lucan, L. i. f Rowe'i Translation, 



8] OBSERVATIONS 

such privileges in the exercise of their reli- 
gion as are consistent with the laws of Ireland ; 
or as they did enjoy in the reign of king 
Charles the Second; and their majesties, as 
soon as their affairs will permit them to sum- 
mon a parliament in this kingdom, will en- 
deavour to procure the said Roman Catholics 
such further security in that particular, as may 
preserve them from any disturbance upon the 
account of their said religion." It was scarcely 
to be expected that an agreement so reasonable 
in itself, and so advantageous to the catholics, 
should long be observed by the party in power, 
whose abhorrence to them was violent and 
indiscriminate, " and which transported them 
to that very cruelty which had provoked this 
abhorrence."* Whilst they forgot or over- 
looked, the grievous afflictions which they and 
their fathers occasioned the unfortunate native 
Irish to suffer, every circumstance united to im- 
press their minds with the recollection of those 
real persecutions and exaggerated calamities 
which the protestants had been doomed to 
endure : this recollection, strengthened as it 
was by the most lasting of all associations, 
constantly excited feelings not the best in 
human nature, and ultimately suppressed those 
more generous emotions which, even towards 
an enemy, might, in happier circumstances, 
have prevailed. 

* Leland, v. iii. p. 128. 



ON IRELAND. [9 

But the truth is, at this period, and during 
some of the preceding and following' ages, the 
most powerful minds, carried away by the 
popular enthusiasm of the times, scarcely, 
allowed themselves, in their entercourse with 
religious opponents, to be regulated by those* 
principles of sound policy, of equity, and bene- 
volence, and charity, which on other occasions 
they avowed, and which generally had a pre- 
dominating influence on their conduct. Re- 
cently awakened from the benumbing stupor 
of superstition, and having thrown off the 
yoke of false philosophy, and ecclesiastical 
tyranny, they exulted, with all the fondness 
which novelty inspires, in that liberty with 
which their own bold efforts had made them 
free ; proudly indignant against that complicated 
hierarchy whose power and policy kept 1he 
world so long- in bondage. The execution of 
penal laws against Roman Catholics appeared 
to them just, and to superficial thinkers his 
always appeared plausible*. They justified the 
severity of their conduct towards them, not by 

* By this remark I am far from wishing to insinuate that 
all those who oppose the claims of the Catholics are super- 
ficial thinkers. Such an insinuation would discover con- 
summate ignorance and presumption. I only mean tQ say 
that the reasoning by which Milton, the friend of liberty, 
and others justified the execution of the penal laws, is prima 
facie extremely plausible, and to those who always dwell on 
the surface of things, very satisfactory. 



10] OBSERVATIONS 

vindicating the propriety of religious intolerance, 
but by considering them as a political faction, 
whose principles are radically inimical to civil 
liberty, as well as to the nobler freedom of the 
mind, and whose political existence, therefore, 
was dangerous to the interests of any state 
with which they happened to be connected. 
This reasoning, since in some instances it may 
be well founded, seems rather imposing, and 
was sufficient to satisfy the consciences of phi- 
losophers and legislators. Its force, not merely 
as it regards the Catholics, but as a directing 
principle of conduct in any case, will be con- 
sidered afterwards. 

In the mean time, let us attend to the for- 
lorn and depressed condition of the native Irish. 
Their chieftains are forced into exile; their 
lands are forfeited; and their hopes of restoring 
the lost honours of their nation are buried 
in the dust. It was during this period, when 
despair seems to have taken possession of 
every mind, that a code of penal laws was 
enacted against the Catholics, breathing a spirit 
inimical to the pure precepts of Christianity, 
and calculated to perpetuate and aggravate 
that poverty and wretchedness, which already 
were almost, insupportable. I can scarcely 
allow myself to trace the pernicious influence 
of this code on the happiness and morals of 
the Irish, and on the agriculture and commerce 



ON IRELAND. [11 

of Ireland, especially after what has been 
written by Parneland Newenham on the subject: 
but for the sake of those who have not seen 
the writings of these gentlemen, it may be 
necessary to make a few cursory remarks. 

The penal code has had a much greater influence 
on the moral and political state of Ireland than 
most people are willing to allow. At the period 
in which it was framed the inhabitants of this 
country were certainly semi-barbarous : it has 
appeared in the course of this volume that their 
connection with England from the very be- 
ginning was little calculated to meliorate their 
condition, or to afford them the blessings of 
civilization ; nor was it possible for this con^ 
dition to be improved by the restrictions of 
the penal statutes. 

These statutes, in the first place, had a manifest 
tendency to increase and perpetuate poverty and 
wretchedness. From the state in which Ireland 
was placed at the revolution, and from the rapid 
increase it has made since, in population, it is 
evident that nothing could raise it from its low 
condition, but mild and fostering laws, which 
would encourage agriculture and manufactures, 
and improve and elevate the taste of the 
people for all the comforts and decencies of 
life. But the penal code directly tended to 
prevent the acquisitions of this taste, since it de- 
prived of every rational motive to exertion \ of 



12] OBSERVATIONS 

every stimulus to industry as it regards the cul- 
tivation of the soil; of the rewards of an elevated 
and well directed ambition. Besides, it should 
be remarked, that restrictive laws, such as those 
in question, though improper and injurious in 
every possible instance in which they can be ap- 
plied, are in certain circumstances more per- 
nicious than in others. In a country such as 
England, where the people are accustomed to 
excellent food, to comfort and cleanliness, 
where great progress has been made in civiliza- 
tion, and where the very lowest of the people have 
something to lose, poverty and wretchedness 
will inevitably be produced, but not nearly to 
the same extent as in a nation where the reverse 
of all this is the case :— Where the inhabitants 
are not yet elevated from barbarism, possessing 
neither cleanliness nor great comfort, and are 
contented with the low gratifications, and scanty 
enjoyments of savage life. In the former instance, 
the habits which are already formed, will con- 
tinue to influence the national feeling and hap- 
piness, and to retard the progress of deteriora- 
tion in opposition to any enactment of the le- 
gislature ; whereas in the latter, those very cir- 
cumstances in which society are placed, when 
combined with political arrangements that are 
hostile to the general good, and with laws which 
depress the public mind, which discourage in- 
dustry and improvement, and which give life and 



OX IRELAND. [13 

vigour to the seeds of discord, will increase and 
perpetuate the universal calamity. 

In Ireland, where the Catholics were ex 
tremely poor, there were some circumstances 
which still continue their operation, that en- 
couraged and facilitated the increase of popu- 
lation to a prodigious extent, and which con- 
sequently augmented the sum of national misery 
and vice. These people, like the Israelites, 
multiplied when suffering under the yoke of bon- 
dage ; and supposed, that by early marriages 
among themselves, they added to the number 
of the faithful, and to the strength and perma- 
nent support of the proscribed church. The 
customs transmitted to them from their fathers 
confirmed them in the same practice. But above 
all, that general poverty which made them con- 
tented with the potatoe as their only food, ra- 
pidly accelerated the progress of a super- 
abundant population. * By the cultivation of 

* The following passage which I have read after writing 
the above, appears to me so strikingly just, that I cannot 
help transcribing it. " Universally it will be found, that po- 
litical degradation is accompanied by excessive poverty ; 
and that the opposite state of society is the most efficient 
cause of the general spread of comforts among the lower 
classes. We have little doubt, that the political degradation 
of the Irish poor powerfully contributed to make them adopt 
potatoes as their principal food ; and in the curious question 
whether, at a future period, the greater part of the population 
of Europe will be supported on potatoes ? much will depend 



14] OBSERVATIONS 

this vegetable, and the consequent facility with 

which a family may have an ample supply of 

^ provisions, Ireland in the course of a century, 

upon the character of the governments in which the present 
convulsions may terminate. The establishment of an univer- 
sal despotism, and the exclusion of the lower and middle 
classes of society from all share in the government, by anni- 
hilating in a great degree individual importance and dignity* 
would have a strong tendency to make the poor submit to the 
lowest and cheapest sort of sustenance ; and it is quite certain 
that if they once consent to produce an adequate supply of 
labour on the cheapest sort of food, they never will be 
able to obtain any thing better. On the other hand, if the 
present convulsions of the civilized world should leave behind 
them improved forms of government* it is probable, that the 
decent pride occasioned by a superior political condition, will 
make the lower classes of society look forward to something 
besides mere support, and not only prevent them from fall- 
ing to potatoes, but raise the quality of their food above what 
it is at present. The causes which, independently of soil and 
climate, have actually determined the chief food of the 
common people in the different kingdoms of Europe, seem to 
have been their political state, and the periods of prosperity 
or adversity, with regard to the funds for the maintenance 
of labour, which they may have gone through. And when 
the character of the food has been determined in any par- 
ticular country by these causes, though it continues always 
susceptible of change,yetit changes slowly and with difficulty, 
and a union of favourable circumstances is necessary to pro- 
duce the effect. A country which, from a previous state of 
general depression, had been long in the habit of living upon 
the lowest kind of food, might pass through a period of con- 
siderable agricultural prosperity, and feel it chiefly in the 
rapid increase of population, and not in the improvement of 
the diet and comfort of the lower classes. On the other hand, 



ON IRELAND. [15 

has more than quadrupled its inhabitants. This 
multiplication of the species, however, so far 
from contributing: to the increase of national 
virtue and happiness, only tended to share 
penury and wretchedness among a greater 
number of individuals, — to spread more thickly 
a poor, and ignorant, and comfortless population 
over the face of the country; possessing neither 
the desire nor the means of bettering their 
condition. 

For the sake of placing this idea in a clearer 
and more striking point of view, let us suppose 
that in an English country, where the lowest 
class of the people have recourse to poor laws, 
houses are provided for the poor, and that they 
experience no difficulty whatever in entering 
into workhouses or cottages whenever they 
choose ; that they are contented with the cheap 
soups of Count Rumford, and never require 
a more nourishing or^ more expensive food; 
that every possible facility is afforded them, 
independent of any exertions of their own, to 

a people which from a course of favourable circumstances, 
had been in the habit of living on the best wheaten bread, 
might from checks to their agriculture or commerce, suffer 
long and severe want, before they would consent to 
change their diet; and the effects of such checks would 
be felt rather in the retardation of the population, than 
in the adoption of an inferior kind of food, or a dif- 
ferent standard of comfort.' ' 

Edin. Rev. July, 1803. p. 352. 



16] OBSERVATIONS 

rear a numerous progeny, while no excite- 
ment to industry is presented to them, but 
are, on the other hand, nearly prohibited 
from raising- themselves in society; it is evi- 
dent that in such circumstances, population 
would increase with a prodigious acceleration, 
so as ultimately to involve the country in 
all the miseries of universal poverty, of famine, 
and pestilence. Population in this case, in 
place of being a blessing to a nation, would 
prove the greatest of all calamities. Now, 
population has advanced in Ireland during 
the last century in somewhat similar circum- 
stances. The potatoe has answered the pur- 
pose of cheap soups: the* cabin, which may 
be procured by a day's labour, is still more 
inviting than a workhouse : and the penal code 
has operated as a check to industry, to agri- 
cultural improvement, and to all those efforts 
which a people perfectly free, will make to 
better their condition. Hence the depressed 
state of the crowded population of Ireland 
before any of these laws were abolished; and 
hence also their extreme ignorance, and vice, 
and insubordination. It is this code which has 
chieily contributed to render permanent that 
melancholy state of things to which Mr. Malthus 
alludes, when he says ; " if, as in Ireland 
and in Spain, and many of the southern 
countries, the people be in so degraded a 



ON IRELAND. [17 

state, as to propagate their species like brutes, 
totally regardless of consequences, it matters 
little whether they have poor laws or not. 
Misery in all its various forms must be the 
predominant check to their increase. Poor 
laws, indeed, will always tend to aggravate the 
evil, by diminishing the general resources of 
the country, and in such a state of things 
could exist only for a short time ; but with or 
without them, no stretch of human ingenuity 
and exertion could rescue the people from 
the most extreme poverty and wretchedness."* 

In what manner and to what extent, it may 
be asked, could the penal laws produce that 
debasement of character, and that degraded 
state in which the people of Ireland propa- 
ne their species totally regardless of conse- 
quences, and in which, while it continues? no 
stretch of ingenuity and exertion can rescue 
them from the most extreme poverty and 
wretchedness? In answering this question it 
is only necessary to advert to the nature and 
manifest tendency of the penal laws, and to 
the state in which this country was placed 
when these were enacted. 

On the last of these particulars, it is unne- 
cessary to add another word to what has been 



* Malthue on Population, y, ii. p, 336. 
B 



18] OBSEB.VATT ONS 

so often repeated. Every one knows that 
Ireland even at the revolution was in as bar- 
barous and wretched a condition as any nation 
in Europe, The whole country at this period 
exhibited a scene of poverty and degradation, 
which could scarcely he surpassed even in the 
wilds of the Russian empire. And what are 
the means which were necessary to raise the 
people to comfort and civilization ? Those only 
which would tend to eradicate all religious 
animosity, which would afford perfect freedom 
and security to every subject, which would 
encourage agriculture and commerce, and 
which by their benign and beneficent effect, 
would infuse joy and gladness into .every heart. 
Every one capable of forming an opinion on 
the subject^ must allow that such measures 
only ought to have been pursued towards Ire- 
land. The reverse of all this, however, was 
the plan adopted. In place of eradicating all 
religious animosity, the penal laws had a direct 
tendency to confirm and make it lasting: in 
place of affording perfect freedom to every 
subject, and leaving the path of honour and 
of opulence open to merit, almost the whole 
native, and a very considerable part of the 
Anglo-Hibernian, population was proscribed : 
in place of encouraging agriculture and com- 
merce by a free trade, both were depressed 



ON IRELAND. [19 

by severe restrictions ; and in place of eleva- 
ting the people to comfort and happiness, 
these laws kept them in ignorance and bondage, 
allowing them only to propagate their species 
so as to increase and. aggravate the national 
calamity. 

In the second place, the penal laws had an 
evident tendency to increase ignorance aiid 
debasement of character. In making-' this re- 
mark, 1 have no inclination to fall into the 
error of those who ascribe to one cause all 
the evils which afflict Ireland. I have else- 
where endeavoured to shew, that no" adequate 
means of ■instruction have ever been employed 
with respect to this unfortunate country; that 
it had no reformers, no friends, no patriots, 
who, by the dissemination of knowledge at- 
tacked the power of superstition, and raised 
the multitude from its enthralling yoke. But 
it surely requires no arguments to prove that 
when a people are systematically oppressed, 
and made to think meanly of themselves ; when 
they are kept poor and dejected, and when 
their situation precludes them from indulging 
in the visions of anticipated deliverance ; it is 
not probable that education will make much 
progress. In such circumstances, indeed, they 
can have no desire for knowledge; the mind 
is too much depressed to perceive its utility; 
B 2 



20] OBSERTATTONS 

it is too deeply affected with the scene of 
struggling penury, of endless care and toil 
with which it is surrounded, to raise its aspi- 
rations to the fountain of light. It feels itself 
unhappy; and the very feeling unfits it for 
the vigorous exercise of its powers: its sensibility 
is employed in cloathing with darkness and 
sorrow that fair universe, which, to every other 
being more fortunate, seems adorned with 
beauty and gladness : and even when it thinks 
of that benign Being, whose goodness and 
tender mercy fill that illimitable space which 
he inhabits, it is with sentiments, not of de- 
votion, tranquillity, and delight, but of painful 
and melancholy apprehension. When such a 
state of mind becomes general, what a power- 
ful barrier does it present to the progress 
of knowledge! „ 

This state of mind is produced to a greater 
degree in Ireland by political causes, than in 
any other. The sensibility of the people of 
that country is extreme: they are easily elated 
with joy, or depressed with sorrow. They are 
strangers to that clownish stupidity which 
renders the peasants of some other countries 
incapable of any strong emotion, and conse- 
quently they cling to superstition itself, as the 
object of long attachment, closer than those 
of less lively feelings. To persecute them for 



ON IRELAND. [21 

what they consider the true religion, is the 
way to make their zeal for it more obstinate, 
and to render their opposition to every scheme 
of mental improvement irresistible. 

But it is not merely as it regards education, 
that the penal laws have been injurious: 
their influence has been extremely hostile to 
the interests of morality. It is impossible for 
any one to travel in Ireland, without observing 
that they have made a character naturally 
open and unsuspecting, jealous, and in some 
instances deceitful. They have operated as a 
check to the exercise of the tender and en* 
dearing charities of life: they have literally 
attempted to divide the father against the son, 
and the son against the father. They have 
placed the people in circumstances in which 
prevarication and cheating are natural; in 
which the low vices of savage life are pro- 
duced. — Perhaps it may be said that this 
would have been the case though the penal 
laws had never existed, and that all the evil 
with which they are fairly chargeable, is the 
greater permanency which they have given to 
circumstances favourable to immorality. And 
is not this evil sufficiently great? But the 
actual injury which they have occasioned is 
still greater: the people of Ireland were ori- 
ginally poor, but they rendered them still 



22] OBSERVATIONS 

poorer : the calamities of long-continued hostili- 
ties depressed them, and enured them to the 
commission of crimes 5 but they debased their 
character, and made them aliens in the land 
of their fathers. How could men be supposed 
to regard their duty to God or to man in a 
country, where political arrangements occa- 
sioned the feelings described in the following 
passage? "The idea of a protestant in the 
Ci mind of a Roman catholic, and that of the 
" latter in the mind of the former, now became 
" closely associated with every idea that could 
" engender wrath, malice, and vengeance in 
" the heart of man. Each abhorred the other : 
" each longed for the extirpation of the other : 
<c and it seems no wise improbable that the 
" more powerful of the two would have pro- 
" eeeded to still greater extremities than it 
" did, had not the government of Britain been 
" directed by a certain Machiavelian maxim, 
u which does not appear to have been wholly 
" discarded, at least before the accomplishment 
" of the union." * 

In the last place, the penal laws have essen- 
tially contributed to retard the progress of the 
reformation in Ireland, and consequently to 
injure the protestant church established in that 

* Newenham's Commercial Advant. of Ireland. 



ON IRELAND. [23 

country. That' policy which is unjust is gene- 
rally short-sighted, and often does extensive 
injury in a direction very different from that 
which is originally intended. And it seeuis a 
self-evident maxim that no party of great 
numerical power in a nation can be perma- 
nently depressed, without affecting the prosperous 
movements of the whole community with which 
it is connected. This remark certainly holds 
true in a religious point of view, as well as in 
a political. It may be highly expedient, on 
various accounts, that in a country where the 
majority profess Christianity, a church should 
be established, and that its clergy should 
possess such immunities and privileges as may 
be deemed necessary to give due influence to 
their character : but it is so far from being 
essential to the existence or prosperity of this 
institution that dissenters should be irritated 
by test or penal laws, and degraded in the 
estimation of all their fellow-subjects, that these 
measures certainly retard the progress of the 
one, and put to extreme hazard the continuance 
of the other. 

What is the design of an ecclesiastical estab- 
lishment ? No one maintains that the origin, of 
such an institution is of divine authority. The 
religion, indeed, whose pure and spiritual in- 
terests it is intended to promote, comes from 



24] OBSERVATIONS 

heaven ; but the thing* itself rests entirely on 
the ground of political and moral expediency : 
its object is to preserve in purity the christian 
faith, and to leave no part of the land destitute 
of instruction. If, however, this end can only 
be attained by the burning' of heretics, and by 
depriving all dissenters of their rights as men 
and citizens, it is surely better to leave the 
preservation of the faith to that Almighty Pro- 
vidence which, in other ages, rendered its 
existence independent of human power. There 
is, indeed, something so disgusting to an in- 
genuous mind, so repugnant to the first rudi- 
ments of those doctrines which the Saviour of 
man has taught, in the endless pains and penal- 
ties which most ecclesiastical establishments 
have annexed to a disbelief of their creeds and 
confessions, that it requires a vigorous effort of 
understanding, and more than usual candour, to 
allow that the precepts inculcated in the bible 
are the same with those which seem to in- 
fluence many of the supporters of such insti- 
tutions. Hence the crowds which in such cir- 
cumstances become either infidel or christian 
dissenters. The mind, if not perfectly inert 
by the poisoning influence of superstition, re- 
coils with inexpressible abhorrence from a 
system, which not only attempts to fetter its 
own noble powers, but makes its high pre- 



ON IRELAND. [25 

tensions of advancing the immortal interests 
of man, subservient to the support of a pro- 
scribing bigotry, of a dark and relentless po- 
licy ; and perhaps either disbelieves the truth 
and renounces the authority of the christian 
religion at once, or embraces, whatever be the 
risk, the tenets of some persecuted sect* But it 
is not only inimical to the repose and happi- 
ness of mankind to support an ecclesiastical 
establishment by harsh and cruel measures: 
it is repugnant to the prosperity, if not 
ultimately to the existence, of the establishment 
itself. 

In Ireland, nothing less than the power of 
Great Britain could have preserved so long the 
protestant church. That church has always 
had a very inconsiderable part of the population 
within its pale : the proportion at one time was 
as one to three, and is now nearly as one to 
four.* This seems to be the average proportion 

* This growing disproportion between the protestant 
and catholic population may be accounted for without 
supposing any accession of the former to the church of 
Rome. For in the first place, the attempts which were 
made in former times to banish the catholics from towns, 
has rendered the usual population, chiefly catholic; and 
as it has been justly remarked, it is upon this part of 
the people, consisting of the poorest in Ireland, that the 
peculiar, facility of increase, occasioned by the use of po- 
tatoes, has naturally operated with the greatest force. In 



26] OBSERVATIONS 

over the whole country. From thite it is evi- 
dent that the protestant religion has- made no 
progress since its first establishment ; nor in- 

the second place, the inferior orders among the Protes- 
tants, wherever situated, consider themselves as holding 
a more elevated rank than the orders among the Ca- 
tholics : they have acquired a greater regard for the com- 
forts and decencies of life ; they have consequently a degree 
of respectability to lose which they struggle to maintain, 
and the maintaining of which becomes a check to the increase 
of their population. " Even the linen weavers of the 
" North, who are probably among the poorest of the protes- 
" tants, earn, according to Mr. Young, about double the 
" wages of the labourers in husbandry ; and feel so much of 
'* the pride belonging to a superior condition, that they 
" have generally preferred emigration, to being reduced 
" much below their usual rank in society, although there 
** might be little chance of their wanting the means of sub- 
" sistence for their families. But the humiliated Catholic, 
" with no rank in society to support, has sought only these 
*? means of subsistence; and finding, without much diffi- 
" culty, potatoes, milk, and a hovel, he has vegetated in 
" the country of his ancestors, and overspread the land 
'** with his descendants. If to this consideration we add a 
" circumstance, in which all writers seem to agree, that of 
" the great encouragement given to the marriages of the 
" Catholic poor by the parish priest, on account of his 
*' deriving a very considerable part of his revenue from 
M them, we shall see no reason to be surprised at the in- 
" creasing proportion of the Catholics to the Protestants. 
" And there can be no doubt, that while the same causes 
" continue to operate, this proportion will continue yearly 
" to increase." Edinb. Review. 



on ihei^:sid> \jll 

deed, considering- the terrors with which it was 
surrounded, was it possible that it should. Its 
adherents depended too little on the zeal and 
pious labours of its teachers, and a great deal 
too much on the efficacy of the penal statutes. 
In place of encountering* error with the weapons 
of sound argument, of winning persuasion, and 
of a holy and blameless life, the only weapons 
which ought in such circumstances ever to be 
used, they were contented to enjoy the lucra- 
tive emoluments of the church, allowing their 
adversaries to be terrified or converted by the 
salutary influence of a proscriptive code. From 
the known principles of human nature, it is 
manifest that this plan would confirm the people 
in their attachment to their old superstition, 
and make them willing rather to relinquish 
their life than a religion for which they and 
their fathers had " suffered the loss of all 
things," even of their political existence. This 
feeling is still kept alive among the mass of 
the Irish population, who not only console them- 
selves with the consideration that they have 
endured wrongs for the true religion, but are 
in some instances singularly jealous of the in- 
tentions of those who make any efforts to en- 
lighten their minds. Nor can it be expected, 
that this feeling will be entirely suppressed 
until the catholics and protestants are in every 



28] OBSERVATIONS 

respect on a level,— until every vestige of penal 
statutes is removed, and the privileges of the 
British constitution enjoyed equally by every 
subject. 

Let the friends of the protestant church in 
Ireland recollect the perilous situation in which 
it has been placed for ages, chiefly in conse- 
quence of these statutes. The time is fully 
come when these can no longer afford it even 
this perilous protection ; when it must be in- 
debted to the more mild, and certainly more 
christian, means of security and defence ; active 
and zealous exertion in forwarding the great pur- 
poses of holy instruction. Let it have recourse 
to these means with greater vigour than it has 
yet discovered, and its safety will be propor- 
tionably secure ; for it will rest on the best 
possible basis, and answer more fully the end 
of its institution. It is the most egregious 
folly in any case to irritate dissenters from the 
established church, since they are likely, how- 
ever mild originally may have been^ their prin- 
ciples, in consequence of such irritation, to 
become its inveterate and irreconcileable ene- 
mies. But in a country such as Ireland, pos- 
sessing more than five millions of inhabitants, 
one of which only is protestant, to provoke to 
madness such a disproportionate multitude, 
implies such a degree of inconsiderate infatua- 



ON IRELAND. [29 

tion and perverse short-sightedness, as no Ian- 
guage can adequately express. The powerful 
aversion which such a multitude may be sup- 
posed to entertain towards the established 
church, though an evil of a very serious mag- 
nitude, is not the .greatest which the irritating 
system occasions: they are extremely apt to 
transfer the same aversion to that government 
which allows its faithful subjects to be de- 
graded and oppressed on account of their re- 
ligious opinions. I am far from insinuating 
that this is the case ; I only mean to say, that 
the catholic code has a tendency to produce this 
effect.* 

That such a code in former ages should exist 
need not appear surprising, since the inflic- 
tion of punishment in those times was univer- 
sally considered the most effectual method of 

* •« Where men are told that they must not be elected 
u to offices because they cannot believe in this or that spe- 
u culative dogma of religion, they immediately become at- 
" tached to their opinions; and the question between them 
11 and the church becomes, not a languid question of reason, 
" but a lively question of passion. Men meet together and 
" talk of their wrongs and their persecutions ; till dissent 
" gets from the skin into the bone, circulates with the blood, 
«* and becomes incurable." Edin. Rev. Nov. 1811. If thij 
remark be true, as it certainly is with regard to England, 
with how much more force does it apply to a country whose 
population is in circumstances similar to that of Ireland I 



30] OBSERVATIONS 

reclaiming or destroying- heretics : persecution 
was not the evil of a party but of the age; it 
was common alike to papist and to protestant. 
But since theory and practice have concurred 
to demonstrate that the human understanding 
cannot be enlightened or convinced by any 
discription of pains and penalties, it is truly 
singular that this relic of the ages of into- 
lerance, has not been superseded by a more con- 
ciliating policy. In place of this, however, 
it is believed by many that the abolition of it 
puts the protestant church in danger. Now, is 
it not most evident that this notion is the result 
of gross ignorance ? What has been the chief 
impediment to the progress of knowledge and 
protestantism in Ireland ? the penal code. What 
has rendered four millions of people hostile to 
the religion of the established church? the penal 
code. And is the continued existence of this code 
necessary to the safety of a church to whom 
it must necessarily have made so many ene- 
mies? There is something in this supposi- 
tion incomprehensible to those who judge ac- 
cording to the ordinary principles of human 
action. For the only way in which it seems 
possible to make the protestant church perma- 
nently secure, is to make it popular, to make 
the utility of its establishment apparent, 
and to render its existence perfectly compa- 
tible with the full enjoyment of every iudi- 



ON IRELAND. [31 

vidual of the state, and thus to make it the 
object of affection and veneration, and not of 
dread and hatred. But these ends cannot 
be attained without the perpetual abolition of 
the penal code ; and until this be accomplished, 
neither the church nor the state should consider 
themselves out of danger. 

" The Irish popery laws," says Mr. New- 
enham, il by their effects on the Roman ca- 
" tholic clergy tended still further to foment 
" religious enmity. — A very great majority of 
" them were observed to spring from the dregs 
" of the people. Youths, probably rendered 
" fanatic by the discipline of priests, wandered 
" about as mendicant scholars, and thus pro- 
* cured the means of transporting themselves 
" to some foreign university ; where, in a state 
c< of the utmost degradation and exclusion 
" from the company of their more respectable 
" and enlightened fellow-students, they ob- 
iC tained a gratuitous education ; wretched, no 
" doubt, in the extreme; but such as was 
u deemed to qualify them sufficiently for their 
" future ministry. On returning to their na- 
u the country; the principal literary acquisi- 
'$ tions of which the greater part of them 
" could boast, were a knowledge of monkish 
" latin, of scholastic theology, of obsolete and 
" incredible legends, and of the more sophis- 
« tical arguments employed by those polemics 



32] OBSERVATIONS 

" whom the early reformers had provoked : 
" paltry acquisitions, which besides were often 
" nearly lost amidst the drudgery of their profes- 
" sion. Ignorant in general of every branch of 
" polite literature; with grovelling' and perverted 
" thoughts, with incorrect and obscure ideas of 
** moral obligation, unpractised in the relative 
" duties of social life, and dependent for their 
" sustenance on their professional labours; their 
<e conduct as preachers of the word of God, 
" as ministers of the religion of Christ, was 
" to the last decree revolting- in the minds 
u of all enlightened men ; and calculated in 
" a peculiar manner, to foster the mutual 
" enmity of protestants and Roman catholics."'* 
Such are some of the evils produced by the 
penal code. It has involved the Irish popu- 
lation in extreme poverty and wretchedness ; 
in ignorance and vice ; and in inveterate hosti- 
lity to the protestant cause. Indeed, it ap- 
pears to me that the chief obstacle which the 
reformation from popery has had to encounter in 
Ireland, and that which has given strength to 
every other, is the code in question. I have 
elsewhere said, I confess, that without educa- 
tion, without an improvement of moral character, 
every plan of melioration, though far from 

* Newenham. Nat, and Com. Ad, of Irel. p. 180. 



ON IRELAND. [33 

being useless, will have its operation obstructed, 
and comparatively do little good. But the 
truth is, the penal laws have had the effect of 
completely keeping* the people in ignorance; 
cause and effect are here to be removed to- 
gether; means are to be employed for in- 
creasing knowledge, while at the same time, 
the great obstacle to its progress is to be 
destroyed. If the people are left in moral 
darkness, and no effort made to enlighten, 
and elevate, and reform them, it is certain that 
emancipation of whatever kind can do them 
little good ; but it is to be presumed that 
those who afford them the one blessing will 
extend to them the other also ; that they will 
facilitate the progress of intelligence and vir- 
tue by imparting light, and liberty, and glad- 
ness together. 



54] OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. X. 



Catholic Emancipation. 

AFTER what has been already written by 
others on this subject, it may seem presumptuous 
to entertain any hope of presenting it in a new 
or more interesting form : and, indeed, were it not 
that these pages may be read by some who are 
uninformed upon this head, and who neglect 
works of greater magnitude, I should have passed 
it in silence. As it is, I can only offer a *few 
remarks in addition to those that I have advan- 
ced. 

It is unnecessary to inquire minutely into those 
causes which prepared the way for that most 
important and glorious deliverance which Ireland 
obtained in 1782 — 4. ^his was partly occa- 
sioned by those silently operating, but eventful 
cir en instances, which, whenever they occur in a 
nation that has long been oppressed, form the 
elements of a revolution, and render resistance 
to its just claims unavailing; and partly by the 
readiness of an enlightened ministry to do justice 
to the demands of a people who only requested 
the full possession of those powers and privileges, 
to the exercise and enjoyment of which, every 



ON IRELAND. [35 

Briton has an indubitable right. From this 
period the commercial restrictions and the most 
grievous part of the penal code were abolished ; 
and Ireland since has experienced all the happy 
effects of a rapidly increasing wealth and po- 
litical importance. This growing" opuieuce 
among* Catholics and Protestants serves to shew, 
in the most striking light, the pernicious con- 
sequences of that narrow policy by which its 
concerns were managed in the days of its thral- 
dom. It is now, however, compared with its 
former state, almost free, and this freedom has 
raised its rental in little more than twenty years 
frem six millions to nearly fifteen ; and has ren- 
dered its complete deliverance either from re- 
ligious or political grievances infallibly certain. 
The silent but infinitely important revolution 
which it has already undergone, has opened the 
eyes of its inhabitants, however much divided by 
religious opinions, to view their real interest 
in its proper light, — to perceive that their dis- 
union is the ruin of their country, — that the in- 
crease of their commerce, agriculture, and na- 
tional happiness depends on their being free, 
perfectly free, and that, therefore, the accession 
of the Catholics to the full enjoyment of their 
rights is essential td the permanent prosperity of 
the whole population. 

It is maintained by some of the people of this 
C 2 



56] OBSERVATIONS 

country that what is termed Catholic emancipa- 
tion can do the Irish peasantry, though it were 
obtained, no good; that its benefit can only ex- 
tend to a few ambitious noblemen and gentle- 
men, and that, therefore, it is extremely absurd to 
force this subject so much on the public attention : 
and they are confirmed in this opinion by the 
hasty assertions of tourists, who say, that the 
inferior orders in Ireland are perfectly indifferent 
about emancipation ; that few of them have ever 
heard of such a word, and still fewer know what 
is its import. This will appear to many good 
reasoning and altogether satisfactory. 

As to the assertions of tourists, allowing them 
to be well founded, they certainly prove nothing. 
For it is very evident that the populace may in 
any country be very miserable, and, at the same 
time, not be able to mention to an inquiring 
stranger the remote and perhaps the principal 
cause of that misery. p They feel the pressure 
of their calamities, and perhaps either blame the 
immediate agents by which these are occasioned, 
or their governors, without reflecting on the 
most effectual method of alleviating their suf- 
ferings, and bettering their condition. It is more 
natural for those of Ireland to dwell on the hard- 
heartedness of middlemen, on the great rise of 
rents, and on other evils which are ever present 
with them, which affect, without any intervention 



ON TRELAND. [37 

of circumstances, their feelings and their comfort, 
than on political arrangements, of which they may 
possibly be very ignorant, whose operation be- 
cause it is more general is less perceived, but 
whose influence is mighty on their character and 
happiness. Under the most despotic governments, 
where the inferior orders of the people are daily 
suffering, and where they are sunk in stupid 
ignorance, can it be supposed that they will be 
able to tell us accurately, the real causes of their 
grievances, to point out with the precision of a 
philosophic legislator the very sources whence 
their calamities proceed ; and if they should fail 
in this, and seem altogether ignorant on the sub- 
ject, are we to conclude that no such causes truly 
exist ? The traveller in Ireland should endea- 
vour to ascertain, not whether the people can talk 
fluently of emancipation, but whether the penal 
code has had any influence on their condition; 
whether it has, on the one hand, produced con- 
summate and disgusting insolence, and on the 
other melancholy depression; whether it be fairly 
chargeable either remotely or directly with any 
share of the poverty, the ignorance, the vice, 
and the wretchedness with which this country is 
afflicted, and whether, consequently, its abolition 
would facilitate the removal of these evils. 

It is not, however, true that the inferior orders 
of the Irish are indifferent or ignorant about 



38] OBSERVATIONS 

penal statutes : they know, for they must know 
from experience, that they and their fathers 
have not been treated like protestants, and that 
neither they nor their nobles have enjoyed the 
rights to which they are entitled. Their sense 
of grievances, it is true, arising from this quarter, 
cannot at this day be so strong or so percept ble 
as it was thirty years ago, since the most galling 
of these were removed at that period, and since 
it is probable their condition in many instances, 
in consequence of their deliverance, has been 
rather improving'. Still, however, the spirit 
which these grievances produced, which the 
operations of the Catholic code as a whole oc- 
casioned, does exist, and will continue to exist 
in a more alarming form, until every vestige of 
this yoke of bondage is destroyed. It is surely 
folly peculiar to our own times to suppose, that 
by bettering the condition of the prisoners, that 
by taking off their irons, and affording a more 
plentiful supply of food, we render their future 
confinement delightful, and are entitled to accuse 
them of ingratitude and unmanageable insub- 
ordination if they are not perfectly satisfied 
with their prison-house. The way to remove a 
discontented spirit from a people who have been 
wronged, is to do full and immediate justice to 
their claims. If they have been degraded by a 
code of laws, it is the most impolitic and dan- 



ON IRELAND. [39 

gerous method imaginable, to abolish so many 
of those laws as will allow them to rise a little* 
to acquire so much wealth, and political im- 
portance to taste the sweets of freedom, without 
a full fruition of its blessings, and to interest the 
public feeling so much in their favour, as ulti- 
mately to obtain by force what ought to have 
been granted from good will. The argument of 
those who oppose the education of the poor, 
holds true for once on this head, — that it is dan- 
gerous to enlighten the inferior orders lest they 
become discontented with their condition. Now 
the spirit of this remark may be applied with 
some appearance of consistency by the opponents 
of the Catholic claims in the following manner. — 
" There can be no confidence placed in Roman 
Catholics ; some of their tenets are at variance 
with civil and religious liberty ; they must, 
therefore, be kept in complete subjection : we 
can grant them no political right or privilege 
whatever, since we should only thereby open 
their eyes to the privations which the good of the 
state requires them to suffer, and invest them 
with a power which at some future period might 
render their farther subjugation impossible." 
This position might have been maintained, 
without any violent incongruity between the 
premises and conclusion, forty years ago ; but 
now that the Catholics have privileges, and 



40] OBSERVATIONS 

power, and popularity, and have entwined 
their interests with those of their protestant 
brethren, it has lost its shadowy plausibility. 
They have got too much if we are determined 
to give them no more, and they have got too 
little to rest satisfied till they possess what 
they want.* 

But to return to the assertions of certain 
tourists: I can aver from personal observation 
that the inferior orders in Ireland, so far 
from being totally indifferent to emancipation, 
seem incapable of being satisfied until the 
thing meant by it be obtained; that is, until 
they are placed in every respect on a level 
with their protestant brethren. I have met 
with many who could not pronounce the 
word emancipation because they were ignorant 
of English ; but they seemed very sensible that 
they and their fathers had suffered much from 
Englishmen and protestants, and that they had 
been held by both in a species cf bondage. 
Does not this intimate that they are not so 
insensible to the evils which afflict their country 
as some travellers would A epresent ? 

As to the opinion of those good people who 

* " Our constitution is not made for great, general, pro- 
scriptive exclusions"— " and sooner or later, it will destroy 
them, or they will destroy it." Burke's Letter to Sir 
H. Langrish. 



ON IRELAND. [41 

think that Catholic freedom will only benefit 
a few ambitions noblemen : allowing their 
position in general to be correct, still it is true, 
that if the multitude conceive it will confer on 
them an important blessing, it ought not to 
be denied them. It is a precept of inspired 
truth, to "cut off occasion from them which 
desire occasion;'* and if the existence of the 
penal code, even in ( its present mutilated form, 
afford the occasion of discontent to a large 
proportion of the Irish population, then it be- 
comes an imperious duty to abolish it, even 
though its abolition should confer a real benefit 
comparatively on few. But I am far from 
granting that the removal of penal laws, in 
whatever shape they may exist, is to the multi- 
tude an imaginary good. Is it an imaginary 
good to have a full share in all the privileges 
of Britons? Is it an imaginary good to be 
elevated to a level with the other subjects of 
the empire? Is it an imaginary good to have 
a fair representation in the legislative assembly? 
Then what we have been accustomed to regard 
as invaluable rights, and to hold dearer than 
any sublunary blessing, become a mere phantom, 
and are unworthy of being the subject either of 
joy or of sorrow. 

It is true, as has been already remarked, a 
very considerable part of the penal code, and 



42] OBSERVATIONS 

that part especially which more immediately 
affects the inferior orders, is repealed. The 
Catholics enjoy the full and free exercise of 
their religion; they are allowed to hold places 
of emolument to the amount of a£300 per 
annum ; they are admitted to the practice of 
the bar ; they may bear commissions in the 
army, as far as the rank of colonel, inclusive; 
they are permitted the free exercise of their 
elective franchises; and they are empowered 
to execute the useful and honourable functions 
of the magistracy. Thus far they may go 
and no farther: it is deemed impolitic and dan- 
gerous to allow them the exercise of the first 
offices of the state. I shall now shortly con- 
sider how far this disregard of their claims is 
just. 

It certainly seems reasonable that no man 
should be punishable merely for his religious 
opinions; — and that while he is a quiet and 
good subject of the state he should enjoy all 
its benefits. This position will be generally 
allowed. But it is possible that a religious 
body may become a political faction, and may 
entertain sentiments hostile to the peace or ex- 
istence of the community. In such a case, 
is it not the duty of government to watch their 
movements with jealousy, to lay them under 
restraints as to the offices which they are to 



ON IRELAND. [43 

occupy, and to prevent as much as possible 
any injury to society from their tenets ? All this 
seems very fair ; though it must be confessed 
that however readily this general maxim is 
admitted in theory, it requires much pru- 
dence and liberality of sentiment to carry it 
into practice, since a government, which in 
other respects is good, may indulge its love 
of power by' excluding the most meritorious 
of its subjects from the emoluments and offices 
of state on the pretence of religion. This is 
no imaginary case: the history of the church 
since the days of Constantino shews the prone 
ness of rulers to interfere where no interference 
is useful or necessary, and to listen to the 
selfish counsels of timid ecclesiastics, in place 
of adhering to the enlightened dictates of a 
just and lih-ral policy. It should be laid down, 
therefore, as a fundamental law, which ought 
in no case to be violated, that for religious 
opinions merely, of whatever nature, no man 
should be liable to restraint or punishment. 

It is obviously the duty of those who govern 
to do every thing in their power for the good 
of the governed. But true religion is most 
calculated to promote pure morality and social 
happiness ; to make the rich look with sympathy 
and compassion on the distresses of the poor, 
and to make the poor submissive and con- 



44] OBSERVATIONS 

tented in the situations to which Providence 
has confined them.; — to strengthen those prin- 
ciples on which all society must be founded, 
and consequently to facilitate the important 
business of legislation. It is, therefore, clearly 
the interest of the legislator that this religion 
be extensively inculcated, its sublime doctrines 
and elevated morality be universally believed 
and observed, and the character of its teachers 
respected and venerated by the nation. There 
seems no way in which this object can effectually 
be obtained but by an establishment. — Yet it 
must be confessed, that there is a danger of 
going too far here, as there is in every thing 
else; of prescribing laws in circumstances in 
which no laws should exist; and of making 
that an instrument of evil which should be the 
source of the greatest good. 

It is a maxim in political economy, that 
every individual of the community should, in the 
prosecution of his interest, be left as perfectly 
unrestrained as the good of the whole society 
will admit; in other words, that the chief business 
of rulers, while they permit every man to seek 
his personal advantage in his own way, is to 
see, that in the competition which this uni- 
versal pursuit of wealth and happiness will 
occasion, no injustice is done to any party. 
This maxim is violated in all ordinary cases, 



ON IRELAND. [45 

when a company of merchants possess the ex- 
clusive privilege of trading; to a particular 
country, or are allowed to monopolize the 
manufacture of any commodity. The supe- 
rior advantages thus afforded to a few in- 
dividuals occasion a positive injury to the nation 
to which they belong" : since, in the one case, 
undue encouragement is given, and a con- 
siderable capital directed into a channel, inio 
which, otherwise, it would neither naturally 
nor profitably go ; and in the other, the com- 
munity at large, in the exercise of its industry, 
is restrained, and prevented from freely em- 
ploying its powers in the acquisition of wealth. 
The situation of rulers resembles some- 
what that of a parent, who looks with equal 
affection on all his children, and who recollects 
that partiality to one of them, may involve a 
violation of his duty to the rest. 

It is maintained by many that the civil magis- 
trate should exercise the same impartial neu- 
trality towards all religious sects;— that as, in 
commerce, monopoly is obviously injurious, so 
it is also in religion; — and as the supply of 
any commodity is in direct proportion to the 
demand, to afford a large premium for an 
article, of which otherwise there would be 
no scarcity, occasions an unnecessary expence 
to the state. Those who maintain this doctrine 



46] OBSERVATIONS 

are of course averse to an ecclesiastical esta- 
blishment. 

But it would be easy to prove, were this 
my object, and, indeed, it is already proved 
by the author of the Wealth of Nations, that 
there ought to be exceptions to this general 
rule in cases which affect the safety or the 
existence of the state*. The interests of re- 
ligion and morality form one of those cases; 
these deeply affect the happiness and security 
of nations; and it is the duty of Rulers to 
provide for their support. The only question 
is, how this duty is to be exercised without 
infringing on the civil or religious rights of 
the people, or frustrating by intolerance the 
very design which the most benevolent inten- 
tions had in view to accomplish? — Now this 
can only be done, by permitting every man 
freely to follow the dictates of his own con- 
science, while a premium^ is afforded by the 
government to that religious party of which 
it approves. In this, there seems little calculated 

* Wealth of Nations, v. 2. p. 252. 

f The money that is paid for the support of an ecclesiastical 
establishment, no true Christian, however much he may 
disapprove of the established church, can reasonably object 
to, since it is to be considered merely as a tax which 
the government of the country thinks fit to impose on the 
inhabitants 



ON IRELAND. [47 

to foster the spirit of a proscribing* corporation ; 
since it is understood that all religious sects* 
while good subjects, are equally protected by 
the laws of their country, and that the premium 
is given to one of these sects solely for the 
purpose of ensuring to the whole population 
in the remotest corners of the land the blessings 
of moral instruction. Indeed, the more free 
all parties are in the exercise of their religion, 
not only are the interests of the established 
church more secure, but the community at 
large, by the emulation which is produced, is 
better served. 

But if it be contrarv to the natural rights 
of men, that they should in any case whatever 
be restrained in the exercise of religion, it is 
equally contrary to expediency and sound 
policy that the Roman Catholics should be 
punished by the loss of any of their civil rights 
for adhering to their own theological opinions. 
— I am aware that it is said, as has been 
already remarked, that the Catholics are not 
punished on account of their religious tenets, 
but as a political faction — as holding sentiments 
inimical to the welfare of the state. Now, 
without waiting to shew the inexpediency in 
many instances, if not in every instance, of 
punishing (for all proscriptive exclusion from 
offices of trust is in itself obviously a punish- 



48] OBSERVATIONS 

ment) on account of opinions merely, unless 
they are evidently treasonable; and taking it 
for granted that the question of Catholic eman- 
cipation is entirely political, I shall proceed 
to make a very few observations on it in this 
light, 

in the first place, then, Catholic emancipation, 
or a full and an eternal repeal of the penal 
code, is not inimical to the safety of the state 
whether civil or religious. This has been often 
proved; and it is really irksome to go over 
ground that of all others is the most common 
place. It is scarcely possible to entertain the 
hope of ever presenting the subject in a new 
light. 

It would be almost enough to say in sup- 
port of this position, that the repeal of the 
penal laws can occasion no injury to the state, 
since the ground on which they were originally 
framed no longer exists. While that unfor- 
tunate family who were most righteously de- 
clared incapable of sitting on the British throne 
continued to urge their pretensions, a regard 
to the security of the constitution, and to the 
invaluable privileges which that constitution 
ensures, might render proper the adoption of 
measures towards their adherents which, in 
other circumstances, would be neither just nor 
expedient. And though it ha# never been proved 



ON IRELAND. [49 

that the Irish Catholics have continued the ad- 
herents of that family, except, indeed, when 
they supported the cause of James the seventh, 
to whom they had sworn allegiance, yet, it 
was inferred, and the inference has been deem- 
ed sufficient to justify the political depressions 
of this people. But the time is now come, or 
rather it was come many years ago, when 
this ground for intolerance is removed: — it is 
removed, not merely in the extinction of the 
Stuart family, but by the steady and loyal 
conduct of the Catholics for the last century. 
When suffering under a code, which all will 
allow to have been disgraceful to human nature, 
thev exhibited a degree of resignation which 
it is impossible not to admire, and a patient 
endurance with which there are few parallels 
in the history of nations. They have surely 
proved by a length of time sufficiently 
long, that it is possible to be Catholic?, and 
at the same time to be good subjects, in a 
protestant country; — that spiritual submission 
to the pope, and allegiance to the king are 
very compatible. 

There is not a more seducing, and, therefore, 
not a more common error, than that of forming 
a judgement of the opinions and dispositions of 
religious sects in the present day, from the 
conduct and maxims by which they were cha- 



•50] OBSERVATIONS 

racterised in former ages. The influence of 
advancing civilization, is so powerful in coun- 
teracting the effect of absurd or illiberal princi- 
ples, as to render the conduct of those who hold 
them, merely because they were held by their 
ancestors before them, not dissimilar to that of 
their fellow citizens. <c The church of Rome, in 
the middle ages, was as intolerant as worldly 
ambition and religious bigotry could render her • 
but this was not so much the natural consequence 
of her tenets, as the result of the state of the 
human mind in those times. She persecuted 
the Albigrenses in the twelfth centurv, because 
it was the twelfth century; because to- 
leration had not been proved in theory, and 
tried in practice, to be the best means of pre- 
serving quiet, and securing truth." — We have 
seen in modern times, in the Cantons of Swit- 
zerland, the Catholics and Protestants living 
together as brethren; and were we to judge from 
the tranquillity and harmony which prevailed 
in these small republics, we should conclude 
that the inhabitants were all of one religion. 
The truth is, a persecuting spirit is not neces- 
sarily connected with any system of religious 
belief. When fanaticism acquires the ascen- 
dancy in any country, so that knowledge, and 
truth, and gentleness of manners are disregard- 
ed; and this fanaticism, (it is of no consequence 



ON IRELAND. [5l 

whether called popery or protestantism) is sup- 
ported by a selfish and an ignorant priesthood, 
recourse will very naturally be had to the burhidg 
of heretics. If the spirit of persecution is to 
cease from the earth, and the very remembrance 
of it is to be transmitted to future ages only for 
the purpose of illustrating the folly and the 
weakness of man, this revolution in the history 
of the world is to be effected, not by the con- 
tinuance of penal laws, but by the education 
of all ranks of the people, and the general dif- 
fusion of knowledge. Make the people ra- 
tional; let them feel that they are partakers of 
the same common nature with the philosopher, 
and that like him they have powers of mind, 
which if morally improved, will raise them to 
immortality ; and tenets of intolerance and of 
proscribing bigotry will be found in future only 
in obsolete creeds, or articles of belief: the evil 
genius of persecution will no longer disturb the 
happiness or disgrace the character of man. 

Why then are we afraid to admit the Catholics 
of Ireland to a full participation of the benefits of 
the state ? Is it because as papists, they must 
be supposed to hold sentiments hostile to the in- 
terests of the Established Church? What are 
these sentiments. One, no doubt, is, that Ca- 
tholics can hold no faith with heretics ; and that 
whenever they acquire influence and power they 
D 2 



52] OBSERVATIONS 

will lend themselves to the work of destruction. 
This is a mere conceit^ it serves the purposes 
of a party and not of truth ; and though fully 
believed by the populace, it is difficult to admit 
that it can bias the judgement of any one who 
has reflected on the subject. For, if this really 
be their opinion, why have they not acted upon 
it during the last century ? If they can so easily 
violate their obligations to protestants, why 
have they not taken every oath which protes- 
tants have chosen to impose on them? But 
they solemnly renounce this absurd sentiment 
in all its bearings; and the imputation of it 
in future, therefore, must proceed either from 
ignorance, or wickedness : especially, since the 
practice as well as the profession of Catholics 
are so directly opposed to its admission. 

It is alleged, indeed, that were papists allow- 
ed to hold commissions in the army, they would 
attempt to introduce popery through a military 
channel : that is, a few colonels would render 
the army subservient to their own designs, 
and overturn the establishment in church and 
state. Is this case probable or possible ? What 
could they do against the whole prctestant 
population ? At present this population is di- 
vided in opinion; but in that case, they would 
be powerfully united in opposition. Let the 
Catholics obtain all the privileges to which 



ON IRELAND. [53 

they are fairly entitled, or in other word-', let 
them have all that it is politic and expedient to 
give them, (and it is highly expedient to give them 
all that they now ask,) and if they should attempt 
by violence or by fraud to get possession of more, 
their attempts will be repelled and frustrated by 
the undivided energies of protestants. 

I cannot help remarking, that in this and in 
many other objections to Catholic emancipation, 
it is supposed that the zeal of papists will ac- 
complish every thing, while that of Protestants 
will do nothing. For, independent of the con- 
sideration of truth being on our side, we have 
the same advantage over them in our ecclesiastical 
establishments that a person living in possession 
of the market has over a new competitor,, if 
their religion will lead them to use every ex- 
ertion to make proselytes, surely ours, if we 
really believe it to be more conformable to the 
scriptures, will induce us to be equally zealous, 
and will constrain us, in the spirit of meekness 
and christian charity, to attempt the instruction 
of those whom we conceive to be in erroi\ — Be- 
sides, the repeal of the penal laws, paradoxical 
as it may seem, will evidently do more injury to 
the cause of popery than to that of protestantism : 
it will divide those who were formerly united as 
fellow sufferers, and who, because they conceived 
themselves persecuted, hated the religion of 



54] OBSERVATIONS 

their persecutors. The friends of the esta- 
blished Church have nothing- to fear from Ca- 
tholic emancipation, if they will only use those 
weapons of warfare which are not carnal, but 
mighty through God ; if they will shew a willing- 
ness to contend with popery, not when they 
have secured so disproportionately the vantage 
ground, but by descending from their fastnesses, 
to the more equal combat of the plain; not 
when they are surrounded by the terrors of a 
penal code, and therefore, of necessity invul- 
nerable, but when they depend chiefly for the 
victory, on the truth and righteousness of their 
cause, and on the piety, and sanctity, and zeal, 
of their teachers. 

As to the apprehension of Catholics intro- 
ducing popery through the medium of Par- 
liament, it seems altogether unfounded; since 
there must always be a great majority of 
Protestants in both Houses, who would resist 
every attempt to change the ecclesiastical part 
of the British constitution, even though " places, 
and ribbons, pensions and sinecures, and fur- 
ther elevation in the peerage," were held up 
to their consideration. Indeed, such a change 
as this, though the protestant members of 
parliament were to decline the execution of 
their duty, it is impossible to accomplish: it 
would kindle the indignation of all classes of 



ON IRELAND, [55 

the community ; it would again precipitate the 
Catholics into the very bondage from which 
they had risen; and in the honest prejudices 
of the people, would be found a most powerful 
barrier to their future restoration. But why 
suppose, that the Catholics must necessarily 
wish the destruction of the Church establish- 
ment? May they not be zealous, and at the 
same time possess prudence and principle ? Or 
if they are so anxious to overturn the pro- 
testant church, why do they not at present take 
all the oaths, which preclude their entrance 
on the higher offices of state? For, if they 
can unite in accomplishing its destruction 
when they are in Parliament, and after they 
have taken an oath that they will engage in 
nothing contrary to the security of our church 
establishment, the same want of integrity would 
surely lead them to take any oath, that might 
facilitate the execution of this darling object. 

Some persons, who express the sentiments 
of a considerable party on this subject, acknow- 
ledge, that they would feel little indisposition 
to the admission of Catholics to political power, 
if they were not afraid of seeing a popish 
establishment; and would have no particle of 
objection to the extension of the like privilege 
to Dissenters, if they could be secure of the 
maintenance of our church establishment. This 



56] OBSERVATIONS 

manifests a most laudable anxiety : could there, 
reasonably be apprehended any danger to the. 
church from the repeal of the penal laws, 
then, certainly, it is better that these laws 
should continue in force. But when the moral 
impossibility of danger arising from Catholic 
emancipation is considered, and at the same 
time, the incalculable advantages which must 
flow to the empire from this measure, it seems 
desirable that this anxiety, originally just in 
itself, should be kept within proper bounds. 
For how can a few Catholic noblemen and 
gentlemen overturn the protestant church, either 
in the Parliament, or in the army, either by 
violence, or by fraud? Before they can ac- 
complish this, the majority of both the army 
and the Parliament must be converted to po- 
pery: they must enter into a conspiracy for 
this purpose, not merely among themselves, 
but also with the sons of our ecclesiastical 
establishment. They can never injure the 
Church if she is faithful to herself; and if 
she should be otherwise, the existence of penal 
laws will not necessarily save her. 

But in order to provide fully for the secu- 
rity of the Church, let every Roman Catholic 
on his entering upon office, take an oath that 
he will enter into no plan or conspiracy for 
the destruction of the Church, established 



ON IRELAND. [57 

throughout the empire. This no Catholic will 
object to take, while it will afford some satis- 
faction to Protestants. 

The most popular objection to Catholic 
emancipation is, that while the authority of a 
foreign power is admitted by Papists, their 
admission into the legislative assembly, or into 
offices of great importance, is unsafe. Now, 
it should be recollected that they have renounced 
the deposing power of the pope, and the doc- 
trine of keeping no faith with heretics. The 
only power which they acknowledge in the 
Pope is purely spiritual; and if it be purely 
spiritual, it little imports the state, as far as 
its temporal interests are concerned, where that 
power is lodged, — whether with the Patriarch 
of Moscow, or the Pope of Rome, provided 
the state is satisfied with such pledges as Ca- 
tholics are called upon to give, in the oaths 
of 1791 and 1793: in which they declare, " that 
they do not believe that the Pope of Rome, 
or any other foreign prince, prelate, state, or 
potentate, hath, or ought to have, any tempo- 
ral or civil jurisdiction, power, superiority or 
pre-eminence, directly or indirectly, within 
this realm.' ' It is contended, therefore, the 
independency of this purely spiritual supremacy, 
admitted in the person of a foreign prelate, 
or rather in the church of which he is can- 



58] OBSERVATIONS 

sidered as the chief organ, can, in no manner 
whatever, interfere with the duties of allegiance 
to a temporal sovereign. The Kirk of Scot- 
land maintains a supremacy equally indepen- 
dent of the temporal jurisdiction of the crown. 
The General Assembly considers itself para- 
mount in its definitions of doctrine and decrees 
of discipline, and convokes and dissolves itself. 
The Ring's commission is not allowed to pos- 
sess any authority or controul over the acts 
of . Assembly. This power claimed by the 
Church of Rome, as distinct and independent 
of all temporal authority, we have seen ad- 
mitted by the most jealous legislatures; and 
not inconsistently with this acknowledgement, 
we know that Catholic princes have waged 
war against the Pope himself, and reduced 
him to the state of a prisoner in his capital. 
— But in admitting the existence of this spi- 
ritual supremacy of the see of Rome, Catho- 
lics do not even admit that the Pope shall 
himself elect and nominate all bishops, as in 
some ages, pontiffs have assumed a right to 
do, in the same manner as they exercised other 
powers which have not even by human autho- 
rities been considered as legitimately inherent 
in them*. 

* Sir John Hippesley's Tract on the Catholic Petition, 
p. 19. 



ON TH ELAND. [59 

In the second place, a full repeal of the 
penal code will greatly conduce to the hap- 
piness, the strength, and glory of the British 
empire. 

It will most obviously have this effect on 
Ireland, by facilitating its moral improvement. 
It has been remarked more than once in the 
course of these pages, that one circumstance 
which has greatly contributed to retard this 
improvement is, the discontented spirit whieh 
prevails among the inhabitants, and the dis- 
traction and disaffection, which this spirit pro- 
duces. The removal of this evil, therefore, 
should form a prominent part of any legisla- 
tive measure, which has for its object the per- 
manent amelioration of Ireland. To remove 
this entirely and at once, is, indeed, impos- 
sible ; since the system of farming agents or 
middlemen, which has its origin in the low 
state in which capital exists in the country, 
and over which government can have no 
controul, is the fruitful source of much vexa- 
tion: this arrangement will only yield to the 
slow but effectual change, which accompanies 
the progress of wealth. But it is in the power 
of government to remove one source of grie- 
vance, — that which degrades the native Irish, 
and renders them the enemies of the English 
character; that which divides the inhabitants 



60] OBSERVATIONS 

of a country, and which makes them susnect 
and dislike one another, — and that from which 
a thousand other nameless evils proceed. In- 
deed, unless this important revolution is ac- 
complished, the protectant teachers and preach- 
ers must continue to encounter very great 
difficulties in their labours : t.ll then, the pre- 
judices of the people will not subside : they 
will still conceive themselves oppressed, and 
regard with distrust the means employed for 
their improvement: they will still think that 
as protectants, they must of course he the 
friends of the government, and the enemies 
of Catholics. I recollect no question which 
the native Irish more frequently asked, — and 
this they asked with reserve and solicitude, — 
than whether I were employed by government. 
They have a propensity to suspect the inten- 
tions of benevolence itself, when exercised 
under such patronage.* 



* t{ Where popular discontents have been very preva- 
" lent, it may be well affirmed and supported, that there 
?* has been generally something found amiss in the con- 
«* stitution, or in the conduct of government. The people 
" have no interest in disorder. When they do wrong it 
<< is their error, not their crime. But with the govern- 
u . ing part of the state, it is far otherwise. They cer- 
" tainly may act by ill design, as well as by mistake. ,, ' 

Burke's Thoughts on the Cause q( the present 
Discontents 



ON IRELAND. [61 

In reflecting" on this circumstance, it is 
impossible not. to regret the existence of 
causes by whiph this state of mind may have 
been occasioned. But why must it last for 
ever? Why should not the most affectionate 
people in the world place the fullest con* 
fidence in the best of all constitutions? He- 
move the penal code— restore them to power, 
to liberty, to happiness and life, and their 
murmurings will vanish like the mists of their 
native isle before the rising- sun ; their warm 
affections will cling- with enthusiastic ardour 
to the government which brings them de- 
liverance; and the remotest glens and re- 
cesses of Ireland will pour forth her sons, 
gallant and free, who with grateful emotions 
w ill engage in the combat which must decide 
the destinv of the world. — Break down this 
" middle wall of partition," the existence of 
which is more galling to catholic feelings than 
that which formerly separated Jew and Gentile, 
could in any circumstances be to the wor- 
shipper of Jupiter, " the stranger to the com- 
" monwealth of Israel,"— and every facility will 
be afforded to the universal education of youth, 
to the moral and religious instruction of the 
inferior orders of the Irish, and to the suc- 
cessful execution of every plan which has for 
its object the improvement of this people. 



62] OBSERVATIONS 

Besides, by the repeal of the penal code, 
as has been often remarked, a much greater 
share of talent will be employed in the service 
of the country : the path to honour, and opu- 
lence, and fame, will be open to the am- 
bition of aspiring minds. And surely, if a na- 
tion of free men is more powerful than a na- 
tion of slaves, chiefly by its intellectual ener- 
gies, every plan by which these energies may 
be enlarged, providing it be consistent with 
the principles of the constitution, should be 
zealously adopted. If there ever was one pe- 
riod more than another in which this duty 
was imperious, it is the present. And yet, it 
is common to acknowledge the duty in general, 
as it regards the emancipation of the catholics, 
while the immediate propriety of putting it 
in execution is denied. This reasoning I con- 
fess myself unable to comprehend ; indeed, 
I question much whether it has any meaning. 
For, the propriety of instantly discharging 
a duty which is founded on justice and sound 
policy, seems self-evident. In the present 
case, not merely the propriety but the neces- 
sity of speedily attending to the obligation urges 
itself on the attention. The distracted state 
of Ireland demands it, — the prostrate nations 
of Europe demand it, — the power and unprin- 
cipled ambition of the Tyrant demands it, — 



ON IRELAND. [63 

and Britain, amid the general wreck with which 
she is surrounded — Britain, still raising her 
head amid the storm, and daring to be free, 
demands it. — What infatuation ! while con- 
tending for our lives, our liberties, and for the 
consecrated land, dearer than all, which con- 
tains the ashes of our fathers, — in which are 
the sepulchres of those patriots, and heroes, 
and legislators, who on the field or on the 
scaffold poured their blood, an oblation to 
that Freedom which their sons enjoy : — while 
the storm seems still gathering, and scarcely 
leaves in the destructive course through which 
it moves, one solitary land in which the re- 
mains of all that makes man like Him who 
made him, may obtain a secure asylum, shall 
we hesitate whether to allow our brethren, our 
kinsmen, with the same privileges which we en- 
joy, to share with us the danger and the glory 
of saving our country, or perishing amid her 
ruins ? 

On the question now at issue depends, it 
may be, the fate of Ireland, and of the whole 
British empire. Four millions of our fellow 
subjects ask for privileges, to which they, toge- 
ther with a large part of the remaining popula- 
tion, conceive themselves fairly entitled. Let 
the dreadful consequences of irritating so many 
people, be fairly weighed before their petition 



8.4] OBSERVATIONS 

be rejected. Every year's delay to their claims 
increases the dissensions of their country, and 
must increase also the military force by which 
the inhabitants are kept in subjection. And 
how can such a force be spared in the present 
situation of Britain ?— Let us fully impress on 
our minds the duty which Almighty Providence 
has called upon us to discharge to ourselves, to 
the world, and to posterity, before we render 
our exertions fruitless by making enemies in our 
own country. " Freedom, driven from every 
u spot on the continent, has sought an asylum 
"in a country which she always chose for her 
<c favourite abode : but she is pursued even here, 
" and threatened with destruction. The inun- 
" dation of lawless power, after qovering the 
" whole earth, threatens to follow u& here ; and 
" we are most exactly, most critically placed 
" in the only aperture where it can be success- 
" fully repelled ; in the Thermopylae of the uni- 
*' verse. As far as the interests of freedom are 
" concerned, the most important by far of sub- 
" lunary interests, we stand in the capacity of 
u the federal representatives of the human race ; 
" for in us it is to determine (under God) in 
" what condition the latest posterity shall be 
" born ; their fortunes are entrusted to our 
** hands ; and on our conduct, at this moment, 
'.' depends the colour and complexion of their 



ON IRELAND. [65 

u destiny. If Liberty, after being extinguished 
" on the continent, is suffered to expire here, 
" whence is it ever to emerge in the midst of 
" that thick night that will invest it? It re- 
" mains with us, then, to determine, whether 
M that freedom, at whose voice the kingdoms 
lt of Europe awoke from the sleep of ages, to 
" run a career of virtuous emulation in every 
" thing great and good; the freedom which 
<c dispelled the mists of superstition, and in- 
" vited the nations to behold their God ; whose 
<c magic touch kindled the rays of genius, the 
" enthusiasm of poetry, and the flame of elo- 
" quence ; the freedom which poured into our 
" lap opulence and arts, and embellished life 
" with innumerable institutions and improve- 
<c ments, till it became a theatre of wonders ; 
<c it is for us to decide whether this freedom 
" shall yet survive, or be covered with a funeral 
<c pall, and wrapt in eternal gloom. ,> * 

* Hall's Sermon on the present Crisis^ 



66] OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. XI. 



ON THE MEANS WHICH SHOULD BE EM« 
PLOYED FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE 
NATIVE IRISH. 

SECTION I. 

General Remarks on the Advantages of Na- 
tional Education. 

I shall not here repeat the remarks by which 
it was endeavoured to prove the inefficiency of 
those means which have occasionally been used 
to enlighten the old Irish, and the absurdity 
of attempting to improve their minds by ad- 
dressing them in a language which they do 
not understand. Taking this truth for granted, 
which, indeed, nothing but the grossest pre- 
judice and misconception could ever controvert, 
I proceed to inquire into the measures which 
should be adopted for extending to the whole 
population of Ireland, all the blessings of 
moral and religious improvement. The most 
obvious means for accomplishing this end are 
education and preaching. 



ON IRELAND. [67 

1. Education. — The importance of this means 
of national improvement is much less under- 
stood than is generally imagined,* and seems 
no where to be so universally acknowledged 
as in Scotland, f Here, indeed, its utility has 
for a long time been fully demonstrated : it 
has produced in the mass of the people, indus- 
try, virtue, and happiness, and has conferred 
on them that proud pre-eminence of intellectual 
endowment by which they are distinguished 
above all the nations of the globe. We never 
expect, therefore, from a native of this country 
to hear any arguments advanced against the 
manifest advantage of a general system of 
education, — a system adapted to enlighten and 
instruct the very lowest orders of the people. 
Jt is from men who have never witnessed the 
happy effects which a plan of elementary tuition 
produces ; or, who are so selfish as to grudge 
their fellow creatures that augmentation of 
domestic happiness which knowledge imparts, 
or, so corrupt and tyrannical as to dread the 
progressive improvement of society, and the 
ameliorating influence of increased illumination ; 
it is from such persons only that it is possible 
for us ever to hear arguments of this descrip- 

* See note F. 

f This was written before the formation of the national 
institution in England. 

E2 



(58] OBSERVATIONS 

tion. There may, indeed, be a few in every 
country whose understandings are so obtuse as 
not to perceive the force of the strongest evi- 
dence, and who obstinately retain all the pre- 
judices of the last century in spite of every 
attempt to remove them. To such characters 
I do not address myself. But to those who 
oppose the education of the poor merely be- 
cause they are ignorant of its advantage, and 
who really have every wish to promote the 
general happiness of mankind, I offer the 
foil owing remarks, common place enough, no 
doubt, but nevertheless of very great im- 
portance. 

In the first place, it is evident that the dif- 
fusion of knowledge among the inferior orders 
of the community, by means of a national 
system of education, must necessarily advance 
the interests of morality. Ignorance, indo- 
lence, penury, and vice, are not more closely 
allied, than intelligence, industry, purity of 
manners, and a watchful attention to all the 
duties of life. It is possible, no doubt, to 
communicate a species of knowledge, or rather 
to put it in the power of every individual to 
acquire it for himself, without improving to 
any great extent the morals of the people. 
But the system of education which I recom- 
mend, embraces the pure morality which 



ION IRELAND. 

Christianity inculcates : which, while it teaches 
the children of the poor to read, at the same 
time unfolds those principles of truth, and 
justice, and piety, by which their early habits 
are formed, and their future life is to be 
guided. Much, indeed, has been said as to 
the abuse to which general education is liable, 
— that it puts it in the power of the poor to 
read books impure and pernicious, and as they 
have not the judgement to choose what is good, 
so they ought not to have an opportunity of 
contaminating their minds with that which is 
bad. But those who make this remark should 
recollect that there is no blessing but what 
may be misapplied, no power but what may 
be perverted, no good without some mixture 
of evil : besides, if the objection has any force 
when applied to the case of the poor, why 
may it not have some validity when adduced 
to shew the dangerous tendency of education 
even in the rich. Has an Almighty Provi- 
dence distinguished the latter from the former 
by a marked superiority of mental endowment, 
by any greater perspicacity of judgement, by 
any livelier susceptibility of virtuous emotion, 
or by any stronger aptitude for the attainment 
of moral excellence. It has, no doubt, in the 
one case more liberally than in the other, be- 
stowed the external means of becoming wise, 



70] OBSERVATIONS 

and learned, and happy ; but the gifts of na- 
ture are not like those of fortune ; her bounty 
is distributed with an impartial hand ; and the 
cottage or the cabin may contain as much na- 
tive genius and virtue, as the splendid man- 
sion, or the academic halls of the College. 

Full many a gem, of purest ray serene, 
The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear ; 

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 

But it is not true that the poor when capable 
of reading prefer in general pernicious to use- 
ful books. When their education has been 
tolerably well directed, they discover a much 
stronger inclination to procure such as contain 
useful information, — as inculcate the principles 
of piety and virtue. Let us in this case, as in 
every other, where it is in our power, appeal 
to observation. In Scotland, where all the 
people can read, are their morals injured 
by their capability of perusing improper books? 
In what other country in the whole world is 
education so general, and where is the country 
that can bear any comparison as to sobriety, 
and industry, and national virtue ? Here, even 
the beggar is ashamed if he be unable to read 
that book which affords the most endearing 
consolations, and hopes, and enjoyments alike 



ON IRELAND. [71 

to the rich and the poor; — if he be unable to 
inform his offspring from the sacred pages of 
their duties and their destiny, and remind them 
of the holy perfections of that awful Being 
whom they are ever to fear, whose favour is 
life, and whose final approbation is, amid all 
the pressures of poverty and want, to be the 
object of their constant solicitude and prayer. 
Compare this lovely picture with the poverty, 
ignorance, and vice of the peasantry of Ireland. 
There, readings cannot possibly injure the 
morals, since there are few who can read ; and 
yet, the enemies of education, so far from dis- 
covering any superior innocency of manners, 
will find the perpetration of crimes much more 
frequent, because the moral feelings are per- 
verted by the deadly influence of a baneful 
superstition. — The truth is, reading is the chief 
security of the poor against moral, political, and 
religious error. The contamiaation is always 
in their way ; is it not proper, then, to provide 
an antidote ? 

It were, indeed, singular if the diffusion of 
the best of all knowledge had any other ten- 
dency than the advancement of the best of all 
objects. Have the thousands, whom the be- 
nevolent exertions of Lancaster have extricated 
from ignorance and vice, and to whom he has 
imparted the art of reading, been rendered less 



72] OBSERVATIONS 

attentive by their education to the duties of 
life, less obedient to existing authorities, less 
useful, or contented, or virtuous ? On the 
contrary, have they not been rendered better 
men, better members of Society ; not one of 
them has hitherto been accused of any crime. 
This is a proud and imperishable testimony to 
the incalculable advantage of early instruction, 
— to the excellencies of his system who has 
consecrated his talents to the noble office of 
consoling-, instructing, and reforming the poor 
and the forgotten. — If, then, it be the duty of 
rulers to prevent guilt rather than to punish it, 
to make the people obedient from choice rather 
than from constraint, by persuasion rather than 
by power, the obligation of affording the 
means of instruction to all the children of the 
state becomes palpably evident, and awefully 
imperious. Indeed, there seems to be no small 
degree of infatuation in leaving the minds of 
that class of the community on which the 
strength and improvement of every nation 
chiefly depends, altogether untutored, exposed 
to the casual associations and impressions of 
those circumstances to which their destiny 
has confined them, and of permitting them 
thus to become the dupes of seditious and de- 
signing men, — to become the fitter instruments 
for the perpetration of those crimes which 



ON IRELAND. [73 

sometimes overturn established governments, 
and obstruct or destroy the happiness of civi- 
lised society. A national system of education, 
the best means for an extensive diffusion of 
knowledge, has a tendency to prevent the oc- 
currence of these evils ; since it is necessarily 
subservient to the advancement of order, virtue, 
and happiness. 

" These are not the times in which it is 
" safe for a nation to repose on the lap of 
" ignorance. If there ever were a season, when 
a public tranquillity was ensured by the absence 
" of knowledge, that season is past. The 
" convulsed state of the world will not permit 
" unthinking stupidity to sleep, without being 
" appalled by phantoms, and shaken by terrors, 
*? to which reason, which demies her objects, 
" and limits her apprehensions, by the reality 
¥ of things, is a stranger. Every thing in the 
* 6 condition of mankind, announces the approach 
" of some great crisis, for which nothing can 
" prepare us but the diffusion of knowledge, 
" probity, and the fear of the Lord. While 
" the world is impelled with such violence in 
" opposite directions; while a spirit of giddi- 
" ness and revolt is shed upon the nations, 
" and the seeds of mutation so thickly sown; 
¥ the improvement of the mass of the people 
f will be our grand security, in the neglect of 



74] OBSEKVATIOXS 

" which the politeness, the refinement, and 
" knowledge accumulated in the higher orders, 
<c weak and unprotected, will be exposed to im- 
u minent danger, and perish like a garland in 
" the grasp of popular fury. Wisdom and 
" knowledge shall be the stability of the times, 
" and strength of salvation ; the fear of the Lord 
" is his treasure"* 

In the second place, a general system of edu- 
cation has a tendency to promote national 
wealth and improvement. Though this re- 
mark may have been anticipated by the fore- 
going, its illustration will suggest some views 
which, though not often adverted to, merit 
considerable attention. 

For example, it will scarcely be denied, that 
a nation where moral and religious knowledge 
is spread among all the orders of the people, 
is more likely to advance in every species of 
agricultural aud manufacturing improvement 
than one where intelligence of every kind is 
almost exclusively confined to the higher or 
even the middling ranks. And the reason is 
very obvious; in the one case, the force of 
prejudice is destroyed, an enterprising spirit is 
excited, which will either surmount or remove 

* Hall's Sermon on the Advantages of Education to the 
Poor. 



ON IRELAND. [75 

existing difficulties, and which, while it only 
seeks its own opulence and honour, enriches by 
its exertions the country in which it is cherished ; 
whereas, in the other case, the various classes 
in their several departments adhere with unde- 
viating sameness, and obstinate attachment, to 
the beaten track in which their fathers trod, 
having- little anxiety either to better their 
own condition, or that of the community to 
which they belong. Here, there is no stimulus 
to excite the latent genius of those powerful 
minds, which nature has not confined to any 
condition, and which, in other circumstances, 
might have conferred lasting benefits on their 
own age, and on posterity : they are buried m 
that tranquil obscurity, that inglorious repose, 
that negative kind of enjoyment, to which, 
but for the ignorance and benumbing torpor 
that pervade the nation in which they live, 
they never could have been doomed. And 
yet, there are many who contend for a con- 
tinuance of this state of things, who oppose 
the education of the poor, because it tends to 
remove the evil to which I have referred. They 
suppose that by affording the means of in- 
struction to the inferior orders of society, many 
will attempt to better their condition, and 
place themselves in a higher rank, while all 
will become discontented, and be unwilling to 



76] OBSERVATIONS 

perform any species of labour which they can 
possibly avoid. 

This supposition is partly true and partly 
erroneous, it is undoubtedly true, that a na- 
tional system of education, to which the very 
poorest may have access, will bring forward 
many individuals, who, by their industry, or 
their original genius, or their strength and 
patience of intellectual exertion, will elevate 
themselves to an order of society far above 
that in which they were originally placed. But 
surely it is not necessary for ever to be proving 
that this is an advantage to the community 
at large ; that by this means, national wealth, 
and improvement, and civilization are ad- 
vanced. Has not the public a better chance 
of being well supplied with a commodity that 
is manufactured by many rivals, and brought 
in great abundance to the market, than if its 
manufacture were solely confined to the mo- 
nopoly of an opulent company of merchants? 
In like manner, is it not more probable that 
the public w r ill in all respects be better 
served, when no branch of the community is 
excluded from knowledge and cultivation, and 
when, consequently, a profusion of talent is 
brought to the market? During a scarcity of 
this article, it happens, as in scarcities of 
every kind, that purchasers have little or no 



ON IRELAND. [77 

choice ; they must either take the commodity, 
though of a high price and bad quality, or 
want. It may be, indeed, that individuals may 
find their interest in such a state of things, 
just as it is the personal interest of the farmer> 
that lie only of all the farmers in the country 
should have a good harvest, and of a merchant, 
whose ships are laden with foreign produce, 
that no other ships with the same commodity 
should reach the destined haven but his own ; 
but as it is in no conceivable instance for the 
advantage of the community that either the 
harvest should be bad, or that the price of the 
market should not be depressed by the ample 
supply of importation, so it never can be its in- 
terest that the public service should experience 
any scarcity of cultivated mind. On the other 
hand, this service will be best advanced, and 
done at least expence, when the supply is most 
ample. 

It manifestly then is the duty of a nation 
to encourage those means by which this ample 
supply may be obtained; in the same manner 
as it is its interest to favour the production of 
any commodity which is essentially necessary to 
its comfort and prosperity. Now, a national 
system of education is one means by which 
this important end may be accomplished; since 



78J OBSERTATIONS 

it affords to all an opportunity of improvement, 
and to the few whom nature has blessed with 
superior powers, the possibility of rising to 
benefit the public, and to advance their fortune. 
As things are at present, in most nations, the 
great mass of the people is completely excluded 
from serving the state by intellectual exertion; 
this is confined to two or three of the most 
elevated orders of society, where there is little 
competition, and where, of course, the work per- 
formed is inferior, both in quantity and quality, 
to what, in other circumstances, it would have 
been. When once, however, this wall of parti- 
tion is broken down, I mean as it regards in- 
telligence, a new spirit will diffuse itself through 
society, and those who are now the sole posses- 
sors of cultivated talents, may find themselves 
surpassed in a quarter, where by them it was 
least expected. 

Those who are at present candidates for 
literary fame, need not, after all, be much 
alarmed at the consequences- of a national 
system of education ; since such a system can 
only embrace the most elementary branches 
of tuition ; and, since merit alone can find its 
way amidst the pressure and difficulties which 
poverty involves, and genius only animate the 
dreariness of the prospect which a ** destiny 



ON IRELAND. [79 

obscure" and unpatronised, affords.* There may, 
and there certainly will, be a strong desire ex- 
cited to improve the condition, and this will in- 
duce the various classes of society to acquire 
those accomplishments by which this end may 
be obtained : still, however, it is not probable 
that many from the lower orders will supplant 
those who are already in possession of the 
market, unless they bring to it a bette* com- 
modity, and perhaps sell it at an inferior 
price. 

But supposing- that the state were not to 
derive direct advantage from the education of 
the poor, to the extent which I contend for, it 
still would be its interest on the acknowledged 
principles of political expediency, that no mem- 
ber of the community should remain altogether 
uninstructed. The benefit it confers may, in- 
deed, be chiefly indirect, but it is nevertheless 
very great, since it excites an inextinguishable 
aspiration after general improvement, which 
discovers itself by its ameliorating influence on 
the various conditions and ranks of society. 
And though its effects on the national morals 
has been formerly noticed, 1 cannot deny my- 
self the pleasure of remarking in the words of 

* Haud facile emergimt quorum virtutibus obstat 
Res angusta d(?mi.,„ Mlt .,,M,»M.Mn«a, «.,.,.•... ...</^v^^a/. 



80] OBSERVATIONS 

Dr. Adam Smith: That the state derives no 
inconsiderable advantage from the instruction 
of the inferior orders of the people. The more 
they are instructed, the less liable they are 
to the delusions of enthusiasm and superstition, 
which, among ignorant nations, frequently oc- 
casion the most dreadful disorders. An in- 
structed and intelligent people, besides, are 
always more decent and orderly than an ig- 
norant and stupid one. They feel themselves, 
each individually, more respectable and more 
likely to obtain the respect of their lawful 
superiors, and they are therefore more disposed 
to respect those superiors. They are more 
disposed to examine, and more capable of 
seeing through, the interested complaints of 
faction and sedition, and they are upon that 
account less apt to be misled into any wanton 
or unnecessary opposition to the measures of 
government. In free countries, where the safety 
of government depends very much upon the fa- 
vourable judgement which the people may form 
of its conduct, it must surely be of the highest 
importance that they should not be disposed to 
judge rashly or capriciously concerning it. 

The governments of the polished states of 
antiquity, paid very great attention to the edu- 
cation' of the citizens. That was, no doubt, 
diversified according to the peculiarities of 



ON IREI^AND. [81 

the times, and the notions entertained of the 
acquirements requisite to promote the interests 
of the state, and to defend the country; but 
every government felt itself interested in pre- 
scribing" a course of instruction for the children 
of all free men. They conceived, and justly* 
that every member of the state is bound, by 
whatever powers of mind or of body he pos- 
sesses, to serve his country*; and that these 
were, therefore, to be improved by a prepara- 
tory course of study and discipline. But this 
principle, if not entirely overlooked in modern 
times, has seldom been fully acted upon; and 
the great body of the youth have had their 
opinions and habits formed, not by the aiding 
power of regular culture, but by the casual 
influences and impressions to which their cir- 
cumstances have exposed them. Though this 
state of things might be unavoidable during* 
the darkness of the middle ages, it has become, 
since the revival of letters, and the invention 
of the art of printing, altogether improper 
and inexcusable. Knowledge may now be 
diffused with the greatest facility; the intel- 
lectual and moral improvement of the popu- 

* Ad societatem, et communitatem generis humani nati 
sumus ; itaque semper aliquid ad communem utilitatetn 
debemus affere. Cicero, 

F 



82] OBSERVATIONS 

lace may, therefore, at a very inconsiderable ex- 
pence, be secured. 

Though it appears, then, that the first part 
of the supposition by which these remarks have 
been introduced, — namely, that by affording" 
universally the means of instruction to the in- 
ferior orders of society, many will attempt 
to better their condition, and aspire to a more 
elevated rank than that which they enjoy, — is 
undoubtedly true, and so far from being an 
evil, is to be considered among the greatest 
advantages, since it is a powerful motive to 
active and persevering exertion; yet, the se- 
cond part of this same hypothesis, viz. that 
the lower orders of the people will become 
discontented, and unwilling to perform that drud- 
gery to which their circumstances confine them, 
is perfectly erroneous. 

Those whtr make this assertion, must have 
very confused and inaccurate ideas of the con- 
stitution of human nature. They have pro- 
bably taken up a certain number of opinions, 
on all subjects, which they deliver on all oc- 
casions, never doubting their truth, because 
they have never f inquired into the nature of 
that evidence on which they are founded. A 
very slight attention, however, to this subject 
might convince them of the fallacy of the 
notions which they entertain. For is it not 



ON IRELAND. [83 

palpably manifest, that though education will 
enlighten the mind, and may excite the desire 
of wealth and honour, it cannot change the 
passions and appetites implanted in man, and 
which are necessary to the continued existence 
of the species? Knowledge will certainly make 
the poor rational and intelligent, sober and 
thoughtful, but cannot possibly make them for- 
get to eat and to drink, nor to neglect those 
avocations by which the means of gratifying 
the imperious desire of food are obtained. Even 
though it were possible to make them all 
philosophers, yet, since philosophy cannot satisfy 
the returning importunities of hunger and 
thirst, nor supply the other necessities of na- 
ture, the great business of life would continue 
to go on as at present: there would be still 
ploughmen, and porters, and coachmen, farther 
removed, indeed, in point of intellect from the 
brute creation, but not less civil to their em- 
ployers, and surely not less industrious and 
persevering in their employment. How pre- 
posterous is it then to. suppose, that nature has 
left her great operations, her directing and im- 
pelling powers, to be changed or mutilated by 
the pleasure or caprice of man? These ope- 
rations, and these powers, are equally constant 
amid the varied forms which society assumes., 

F 2 



S4] OBSERVATIONS 

— whether its state be learned or ignorant, 
rich or poor, refined or barbarous. 

But though education cannot eradicate any 
passion or appetite in human nature, there is 
a desire which if it does not wholly create, it 
most powerfully invigorates ; 1 refer to the de- 
sire of improving the condition. Where the 
people are grossly ignorant, this principle has 
much less force than in a country where in- 
telligence is equally diffused, and where free- 
dom of thought and of action is allowed: and 
perhaps, in circumstances of this last descrip- 
tion 3 it might, if not attended with some coun- 
teracting forces, occasion some evil. The im- 
pelling power of this desire, and the force by 
which it is regulated and restrained, may not 
improperly be compared to the centripetal and 
centrifugal forces in the philosophy of Newton; 
and the former are not less necessary to the 
prosperity of the moral world, than the latter 
are to the existence of the physical. While 
the desire to improve the condition may he 
considered as a constantly operating power, 
acting in a certain direction, the passions and 
appetites of human nature form another, and 
an opposing power, by which the impetus of 
this is regulated and rendered useful. Though 
this illustration from analogy may be deemed 
more fanciful than just, it does not affect the 



ON IRELAND. [85 

truth of the remark which it is designed to 
explain. — If, indeed, it were optional with the 
poor whether they performed the drudgery of 
their station or not, or, if they attended to 
their employment, merely because they were 
ignorant, then it might be inexpedient to afford 
them that knowledge by which they become 
indolent: but since every man, whether lettered 
or unlettered, stands in need of bread, and since, 
therefore, if poor, he is impelled to labour by 
a force which is regular in its operation, and 
which has more -efficiency than any that human 
ingenuity can put in iU place, the danger 
which is apprehended, from the most exten- 
sive system of national education, is a mere 
dream of the imagination. 

It may seem improper in a Scotchman, al- 
ways to refer to his own country for proofs 
of the excellent effects of knowledge among 
the poor; but if an appeal to observation, where 
it is practicable, for the truth of any position, 
be better than a mere acquiescence in specu- 
lation, then, in discussing the present subject, 
it becomes unavoidable. For though the un- 
paralled generosity and benevolence of English- 
men go a great way to supply the lack of 
parochial schools, by supporting similar insti- 
tutions, they have not yet had time to produce 
all their effects. We must still have recourse 



86] OBSERVATIONS 

to the north side of the Tweed for living 
examples, to prove that it is possible for men 
to be very good porters, and ploughmen,— to 
occupy the very meanest offices of society, and 
yet be tolerably acquainted with the arts of 
reading, writing, and even of performing the 
rule of three. Here there is no extraordinary 
discontentedness discovered under the pressures 
of life, and no difficulty experienced in pro- 
curing labourers for the most menial or even 
offensive services. Nor is the employer less 
pleased with his workmen or servants, be- 
cause they have got some share of that intel- 
ligence and thoughtfulness which education 
generally ensures. The truth is, discontent 
and a disposition to murmur at the lot which 
Providence has assigned us, is the effect, not 
of moral and religious instruction, but of igno- 
rance, since knowledge enables us to appre- 
ciate the blessings already enjoyed, and refers 
the mind to that future state of felicity, in 
which every inequality of this life will be fully 
adjusted. The poor man who has only scanty 
fare for himself and bis family, but whose 
heart is impressed with the hopes of Christia- 
nity, and cheered by its animating consolations, 
will endure with submission and pious resig- 
nation, those toils and cares which the will 
of Heaven has appointed him. If he attempts 



ON IRELAND, [87 

to better his condition, it is by means of in- 
dustry, honesty, and uprightness; and these 
are means which seldom fail to render such 
an attempt ultimately successful. 

Having thus considered some of the preju- 
dices which oppose the education of the poor, 
it may be said, that I have given them more 
attention than they seem to merit. They are, 
indeed, like prejudices of every kind, founded 
in ignorance; but they serve the useful pur- 
pose of leading to a closer investigation of 
those principles,- which, in whatever way they 
are analysed, conduct to the same results. 

Besides those already mentioned, there is 
another way in which a national system of 
education tends to promote the happiness and 
improvement of the kingdom; I mean, its ten- 
dency to impose those moral restraints which 
limit the extent of population to the means 
of subsistence. This appears to me to be a 
most important subject, and merits a much 
larger share of attention than it has yet re- 
ceived. 

It is very evident that population has a na- 
tural tendency to advance, not in proportion to 
the means of subsistence, but in a much greater 
ratio : the one proceeds in a geometrical, the 
other in an arithmetical, proportion. This may 



88] OBSERVATIONS 

now be considered as an established fact in 
political science; and this general truth leads 
to conclusions very important to the happiness 
of society. For in consequence of the power 
of multiplying" the species, with which nature 
has invested the human kind, there is a danger 
in most cases lest the number of the people 
should go beyond the quantity of food pro- 
vided for their support. Wherever this oc- 
curs, and it occurs in some* parts of the world 
very frequently, it produces various evils : tlie 
existing population must be more sparingly 
fed; the provision which is no more than 
adequate for five, it is necessary to divide 
among ten, and that which is no more than 
sufficient for the comfortable support of two 
millions of people, must be managed so as to 
serve three. Nor does the evil stop at such 
a comparatively moderate excess of inhabitants 
as is here supposed: it advances until disease, 
and famine, and war, necessarily diminish the 
population, and again render it proportion- 
able to the means of subsistence. Unfor- 
tunately these ministers of death will have 
occasion in a short time again to return, and 
again, in infinite succession, tiJI those remedies 
which Providence has appointed be applied to 
prevent the recurrence of an evil, which these 
are designed to remove. 



OX IRELAND. [89 

Of these remedies, the principal is the dif- 
fusion of moral and religious knowledge by 
means of education. Man, rude and ignorant, 
has little dominion over his passions ; he yields 
to the force of his appetites with scarcely any 
consideration as to consequences; he unites 
himself to a female without having made any 
provision for his offspring, and thus he involves 
thei nnocents that are to be born in calamities 
over which they can have no controul. The 
contrary of this, however, is the case with a 
man of strong' moral feelings and habits: he 
has accustomed his passions to bear some res- 
traint; he reflects on the evils of poverty; 
the consequences of an unprovided and pre. 
mature marriage; on the positive guilt of 
involving an amiable female in the distresses 
of penury and want ; and on those complicated 
circumstances which render him for life in- 
capable of bettering his condition. These are 
considerations which will naturally occur to 
an intelligent mind; and they are sufficient 
to deter a prudent man from an union for 
which he is altogether unprepared. It is pos* 
sible, indeed, that the influence of education 
in counteracting these evils may be greatly 
obstructed by particular customs, or by an 
improper interference with the concerns of the 
poor: but even in such circumstances its in- 



90] OBSERVATIONS 

fluence will be of considerable avail, since it makes 
man more rational and thoughtful, and raises him 
above that low state of degradation to which 
otherwise his nature will be confined. Hence 
the necessity of presenting to the human mind 
some subject on which it may usefully exercise 
its faculties, something to excite and improve 
the moral feeling, something that wilt abstract 
the attention from the call of passion,— from 
the debasing pleasures of low and sensual en- 
joyment: so true is it, though the contrary 
has been maintained by those whose privilege 
it is to influence the destiny of nations, that 
knowledge among the multitude is essentially 
necessary to make their actions ultimate^ sub- 
servient to the real wealth and happiness of the 
state. 

That passion which in barbarous countries 
occasions much evil, may, where the blessings 
of true religion and civilization are enjoyed, 
produce much good. In such circumstances, 
the tender influence which virtuous love exerts 
on the feelings, and dispositions, and character, 
is truly of the happiest kind ; while it removes 
some of the asperities natural to the male, it 
awakens and cherishes the most delightful sym- 
pathies of his nature. Nor is this confined to 
the higher ranks of life ; it will find its way 
to every order of society, provided it be ac- 



ON IRELAND. [91 

companied by moral and religious knowledge. 
Even the youthful inhabitants of the cottage, 
which is hallowed by the daily invocation of 
His presence who dwells with the lowly, are 
no strangers to the ameliorating power of that 
pleasing emotion which delights to make its 
object happy, and which, with its gentle but 
irresistible sway, excites to the ardent and 
ceaseless imitation of the thousand nameless ex- 
cellencies, which its object is supposed to possess. 
And of these sons of care and toil, perhaps it 
may be said, that the most delightful period 
of a life that is full of trouble, is, whilst the 
tenderest sensibilities of the heart are alive to 
the impressions of female beauty and loveliness, 
to the pleasure of all the endearing associations 
which the indications of tenderness, and bene- 
volence, and virtue, must necessarily form. 

It is the more necessary to dwell on this par- 
ticular, since it has been objected to those 
views which Mr. Malthus has had the merit 
of placing in a striking light, that they afford 
a dark and melancholy representation of the 
conduct of Providence, by holding out dis- 
couragements to the early union of the sexes. 
Now, if those who have not the means of sup- 
porting a family, and these are the only per- 
sons to whose early marriage the opinions of 
Mr. Malthus, or rather the dictates of sound 



92] OBSERVATIONS 

prudence, and of scripture, afford any discou- 
ragement, were deprived of the tender, and 
pleasing, and humanising influence to which [ 
have alluded, the views in question would, 
indeed, be dark and melancholy. But they, 
as well as others, may enjoy the moral ad- 
vantage which an early and a continued at- 
tachment to one object affords, and all those 
bright visions of the future, which arise to 
the imagination and the heart of the dullest 
lover, and which made the service of seven 
years for Rachel, appear to the enamoured 
patriarch " but a few days, for the love he 

had to her." Indeed this subject, when fully 

investigated, will not only appear illustrative 
of the intentions of Deity as to the moral 
destiny of man, but also of the extreme ne- 
cessity of giving every possible attention to the 
instruction of the people. 

Besides, the desire to consummate virtuous 
love will have a tendency to produce such exer- 
tion as will make some provision for the future 
union. All the earnings of the preceding 
years are carefully preserved : the lover is in- 
dustrious and economical that he may have 
some little stock by which he can render the 
object of his affections more comfortable. This 
practice, while it induces sober habits, which 
will continue always useful to the individual 



ON IRELAND. [93 

and his family, is of very great utility to the 
public, since it prevents the children born 
front such a marriage from becoming" an use- 
less burden. In this way, the extent of po- 
pulation will not at any time go much be- 
yond the means of sustenance necessary for 
its support; and thus the wealth and hap- 
piness of the kingdom are promoted. Such 
a state of things has already taken place in 
Scotland to a good degree : there the poor, in 
place of being a nuisance to the public, are 
industrious, and virtuous, and comfortable : all 
the effects of such habits are apparent in the 
unrivalled progress of its agriculture, and in 
the advancing prosperity of the whole country. 
— This is the happy result of the education 
of the poor. If it be necessary to set off the 
colouring of this beautiful picture by one of 
an opposite description, let us turn our attention 
to Ireland, and there it is fully presented to 
our view. There the poor are ignorant, su- 
perstitious, and comfortless; wandering about 
in crowds on the public roads, loathsome with 
filth and disease, a burden to themselves, and 
an annoyance to those who are stunned with 
the noise of their vociferation. Nor is the 
condition of the native peasantry greatly better : 
their poverty and wretchedness are well known ; 
they have been remarked by every traveller. 



94] OBSERVATIONS 

Some persons have attributed these evils to the 
oppression of middlemen, others to the galling 
pressure of the tithes, and some to the de- 
basing' influence of penal statutes and political 
degradation ; but while it is admitted that 
middlemen, and tithes, and penal statutes have 
produced their full proportion of the general 
calamity, the principal source of the evil is 
the gross ignorance and consequent incapacity 
of the people, and until this in some degree 
be removed, all the efforts to improve Ireland, 
though not useless, will prove totally inade- 
quate. 

In the third place, the education of the in- 
ferior orders of the people becomes peculiarly 
necessary in all manufacturing countries. This 
necessity arises from the circumstances in which 
the inferior orders of the people are placed 
in all countries of this description. These 
evidently, if they do not directly produce im- 
becility of judgement, present few objects by 
which its powers are exercised, and can scarcely 
be considered as favourable either to the purity 
or polish of the manners. The mechanic who 
has been confined from his earliest years to 
the same unvaried employment, and who has 
only to perform the same operation, unac* 
quainted with difficulty, may be subservient 
to national opulence, but cannot greatly improve 
his mind. Indeed, the monotonous sameness 



ON IRELAND. [95 

of his occupation, as it renders unnecessary all 
mental exertion, must have a tendency to 
destroy the force of his intellectual faculties, 
and induce a powerful inaptitude to every 
work that is arduous and liberal, to evely feeling 
that is generous, and tender, and manly. If men 
are treated all their life time as children, or, 
what amounts nearly to the same thing-, if 
their situation requires little more than the 
mechanical labour of which children are capable, 
it is not probable that they will ever be able 
to form the vigorous conceptions of matured un- 
derstandings. This, however, is the condition 
of thousands who spend their life in the shops 
of the manufacturer. Here there is no object 
to call forth the energies of their mind, no 
excitement applied to the inventive powers, no 
intricacies to be unravelled, no difficulties to be 
removed \ some mechanical dexterity, applied 
in the same dull direction, is all that is re- 
quired. 

The reverse is the case in the pastoral and 
agricultural life; where new objects are daily 
presenting themselves to the view; where, in 
the latter state of society especially, by every 
changing combination of circumstances, the 
mental powers are employed and strengthened, 
and where it is impossible for the experience 
of the past to furnish, in many cases, an accurate 



96] OBSERVATIONS 

directory for the future. " In such societies, 
the varied occupations of every man oblige 
every man to exert his capacity, and to in- 
vent expedients for removing difficulties which 
are continually occurring. Invention is kept 
alive, and the mind is not suffered to fall 
into that drowsy stupidity, which, in a civilized 
society, seems to benumb the understanding 
of almost all the inferior orders of the people. 
In these barbarous societies, as they are called, 
every man it has already been observed, is 
a warricr. Every man too is in some mea- 
sure a statesman, and can form a tolerable 
judgment concerning the interest of the society, 
and the conduct of those who govern it. How 
far their chiefs are good judges in peace, or 
good leaders in war, is obvious to the observation 
of almost every single man among them. In 
such a society, indeed, no man can well ac- 
quire that improved and refined understand- 
ing, which a few men sometimes possess in 
a more civilized state. Though in a rude 
society tkere is a good deal of variety in the 
occupations of every individual, there is not a 
great deal in those of the whole society. 
Every man does, or is capable of doing, al- 
most every thing which any other man does, 
or is capable of doing. Every man has a 
considerable degree of knowledge, ingenuity 



ON TRELAND. [97 

and invention ; but scarcely any man has a 
great degree. The degree, however, which 
is commonly possessed* is generally sufficient 
for conducting the whole simple business of 
the society. In a civilized state, on the con- 
trary, though there is little variety in the oc- 
cupation of the greater part of individuals, 
there is an almost infinite variety in those of 
the whole society. These varied occupations 
present an almost infinite variety of objects 
to the contemplation of those few, who, being 
attached to no particular occupation themselves, 
have leisure and inclination to examine the oc- 
cupations of other people. The contemplation 
of so great a variety of objects necessarily 
exercises their minds in endless comparisons 
and combinations, and renders their understand- 
ings, in an extraordinary degree, both acute 
and comprehensive. — Notwithstanding the great 
abilities of those few, all the nobler parts of 
the human character may be, in a great mea- 
sure, obliterated and extinguished in the great 
body of the people."* 

Hence it is that in all rude society, the dif- 
ference between the chieftain and his vassal, in 
point of intellectual attainment and accomplish- 
ment, is really very little. The one is exercised 

* Smith's Wealth of Nations, v iii. 
G 



98] OBSERVATIONS 

in tjie same school of discipline, enured to the 
same hardships, accustomed to the same patience 
and vigilant exertion, the same foresight, for- 
titude, and contempt of death, as the other. 
In this case, there is no danger of falling into 
that state of torpid insensibility, or of mental 
vacuity, which a consciousness of total incapa- 
city and perpetual neglect have a tendency to 
produce. The vassal feels his own importance, 
not merely as connected with a powerful chief- 
tain, but as an useful if not a necessary in- 
strument in carrying his enterprising designs 
into execution. His manners and address are 
thus greatly improved •• and those manly feelings, 
which in every state of society are essential to 
true politeness, and from which, what is called 
good breeding in modern times chiefly takes its 
rise, acquire a predominant and permanent in- 
fluence. Both the intellectual and moral powers 
are thus strengthened, and the character though 
far from being perfect, approaches nearer to per- 
fection than that of persons of the same rank, 
placed in different circumstances. For in pro- 
portion as society advances in civilization, and 
the division of labour is multiplied, in the same 
proportion will be the retrograde motion of the 
inferior orders of the people as to all mental en- 
dowment—as to all the tender feelings of refined 
delicacy to the other sex, and as to every plea- 



ON IRELAND. [99 

sing and winning accomplishment. And what 
may seem extraordinary, that very progress of 
society which is so desirable, and that inde- 
finite division of labour, without which manu- 
factures cannot flourish, form the causes by 
which these effects are produced. 

In an advanced state of civilization it is per- 
fectly manifest, that the friendly and familiar 
intercourse between the higher and the lower 
ranks, common to other times, is at an end. 
Those manners, therefore, which in such times 
were not altogether peculiar to any class of the 
community, are now, for the most part, con- 
fined to those circles from which all mechanics 
are of course excluded. In place of that re- 
spectful confidence which the vassal felt, when he 
addressed his chieftain as his friend and his lord, 
and in place of that condescension and warmth 
of affection which the chieftain on his side dis- 
covered, there is now, on the one hand, ex- 
pressed a haughty indifference to the concerns 
of inferiors, and on the other, a servile abject- 
ness little calculated to beget liberal or manly 
sentiments. — But the tendency of an indefinite 
division of labour is not less hostile to intellectual 
exertion, than that change of circumstances to 
which I refer is to the polish of the manners ; 
since it confines the noble powers with which man 
is invested, to the mere mechanical production 

G % 



100] . OBSERVATIONS 

of an unvaried effect. If the powers of the mind, 
like those of the body, are improved only by ex- 
ercise, then it follows that where this exercise 
is not necessary, or rather is completely pre- 
cluded, mental debility must have the ascen- 
dency. 

If these remarks be well founded, and they 
seem almost self-evident, the consequences which 
result from the progress of manufactures and 
the indefinite division of labour, afford rather a 
melancholy prospect, as it regards the advancing 
perfection of the human character, and the in- 
terests of civil liberty. These interests depend, 
not so much on the comparatively few literary 
men which a state of growing opulence 
and civilization will produce, as on the intel- 
lectual endowments, and on the moral feelings 
and perceptions of the great body of the people. 
Where the middling and inferior ranks of 
society are weak, aud ignorant, and conse- 
quently superstitious, they are altogether in- 
capable of appreciating the invaluable blessings 
of a free government, and are still less willing 
to hazard their lives to defend them : though 
such a government may be established among 
a people in these circumstances it cannot long 
continue ; and while their faculties remain de- 
pressed and inert, though revolutions in the state 
should take place in infinite succession, their 



ON IRELAND. [101 

condition cannot be changed greatly for the 
better. If British liberties, therefore, are to be 
maintained, those qualities in the people by 
which they were originally secured must also be 
maintained, and the circumstances by which 
these qualities may be affected should be care- 
fully observed, and their injurious influence 
counteracted. A beneficent providence in this 
case, as in every other which relates to the hap* 
piness of man, has not left us without resources; 
since it has put into our hands the means by 
which the intellectual and moral character of 
the people, may, notwithstanding the obstacles 
by which it is opposed, be maintained and greatly 
improved. Education is this powerful means : 
and to be satisfied that it is capable of attaining 
this end, let us only recollect that the division of 
labour enervates the mind of the mechanic by 
depriving him of all occasion for mental exertion. 
The communcation of knowledge goes a con- 
siderable way to supply this deficiency : it pre* 
sents to the mind new ideas, by the comparing 
of which, the judgement must necessarily be 
strengthened: it unfolds prospects which 'cannot 
fail to stimulate his imagination, and to 
enlarge the sphere of his intellectual energies. 
It is true, the poor have little time which 
they can devote to the acquisition of know- 
ledge : when children, they have teen em* 



102] OBSERVATIONS 

ployed in earning their bread; and now that 
they are men, they must, by incessant applica- 
tion, provide for themselves and their family. 
But this circumstance only proves the infinite 
importance of education to the poor ; since that 
period of their youth, in which they are unfit for 
business, is the only time which their poverty 
will suffer them to spare from necessary labour, 
and which, therefore, ought to be assiduously 
employed in laying some foundation for their 
future moral and intellectual character. The 
branches of education which it is possible to ac- 
quire in such a short time must necessarily be 
very limited ; but they will be found extremely 
useful : a knowledge of reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, may be tolerably well attained, 
which, if it fails to do all the good that might 
be wished for, will at least prevent, in some 
degree, the recurrence of evils which ignorance 
and imbecility most certainly ensure. A know- 
ledge of reading itself enables the mechanic to 
obtain useful information, and is likely to induce 
him rather tp spend his leisure hours in the 
improvement of his mind, than amid the riot 
and intemperance of the ale-house. 

By noticing those branches of education which 
it is in the power of the poor in every situation to 
acquire, I am far from approving of the offi- 
ciousness of those whose benevolent anxiety 



ON IRELAND. [103 

Tor the concerns of the inferior orders, obliges 
them to appoint prescribed limits to their in- 
struction. This conduct seems to me as absurd, 
and as contrary to sound policy, as that of de- 
termining the kind and quantity of food which 
the poor are to eat, and the quality of the cloth 
with which they are to be clothed. Superiors 
are sometimes accustomed to think, that they 
can manage the interests of their inferiors much 
better than they can themselves. No supposition 
can be more unreasonable or more contrary to 
fact : since experience shews that the poor are 
more economical themselves than any rich man 
can be for them, and are capable of directing 
their immediate interests much better than it is 
possible for those who are placed in very different 
circumstances to do on their behalf. The poor 
have the power of reason as well as the rich: 
and is it not probable that they will act more 
conformably to common sense and right reason, 
when they are permitted to think for themselves, 
and feel that they are solely accountable for the 
merit or demerit of their actions, than when 
they are taught to believe that others must 
think for them ? — It is truly provoking to hear 
those, who in general ternis assent to the edu- 
cation of the lower orders of the people, stre- 
nuously maintain that there is a danger lest they 
ihould become learned over much ; to prevent 



104] OBSERVATIONS 

which they assume the power of prescribing the 
just boundaries of their literary attainments. 
Unfortunately the circumstances in which the 
poor are placed are of themselves sufficient 
to limit the extent of these attainments: they 
must labour for bread; there is no avoiding" the 
imperious call of nature; they want time, and 
often inclination to become moderately learned. 
Some, indeed, will rise above these difficulties, 
and under discouragements which nothing less 
than the impetus of genius could successfully 
encounter, will tread in the path of science to 
honour and to fame. And who can wish that 
these lights from heaven, which occasionally 
emerge from the obscurity and darkness in 
which they were originally involved, and 
" which communicate to objects a morning fresh- 
ness and unaccountable lustre, that is not seen 
in the creation of nature,'' should have the efful- 
gent brightness of their beams extinguished, and 
its benefit for ever lost to the world, by the useless 
restrictions which ignorance and misconception 
impose on a system of popular education? As 
under a free government, the path of honour is 
open to all, so every one should have free access 
to that of literature and science. Let then the 
elementary branches of education be fairly placed 
within the reach of the very poorest of the 
people, and they themselves will be best capable 



ON IRELAND. [105 

of judging how far they can afford a more liberal 
course of education. It is the duty of the state 
to impart to the lowest subject the means of ac- 
quiring* knowledge ; it is his rightly to improve 
them. And that folly must indeed he pre- 
sumptuous, which affects to say even of his pro- 
gress in the attainment of knowledge, hitherto 
shall thou go and no farther* 

In addition to these arguments which have 
been advanced to prove the utility and ne- 
cessity of the universal education of the poor, 
there is yet another, the force of which should 
certainly be acknowledged in such a country 
as this: I refer to the obligations of this 
nature arising from the Christian Religion ; 
the genius of which is as liberal as the most 
liberal but sound philosophy can desire. 

Christianity in its precepts, its spirit, and 
design, is completely hostile to ignorance in 
any order of the people. When its divine 
Author commanded his Apostles to teach all 
nations, he surely meant all the individuals 
of which nations are composed. And he himself 
condescended to shew them an example, by 
preaching the gospel to the poor, — by teaching 
those who were as sheep without a shepherd, 
who were ignorant and out of the way. Incieed, 
indifference to the interests of the inferior 
orders of [the people is totally incompatible 



106] OBSERVATIONS 

-with that spirit of humility and benevolence 
which his doctrines uniformly inculcate. These 
doctrines pre-suppose, what some persons are 
not very willing to allow, that there is no 
man, whatever be his rank or situation, who is 
not capable in some degree of understanding 
them, and to whom it may not be an irreparable 
loss not to know them. If there be any truth in 
that solemn declaration of the Saviour, that 
this is life eternal to know the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ whom he has sent, he is not without 
guilt, who leaves those in ignorance, to whom 
it is in his power to impart the benefits of know- 
ledge. But certainly there is no way of com- 
municating knowledge so effectual as by an 
early education ; it is in youth that the mind is 
most easily susceptible of impression, and that 
principles of piety and religion may be implanted. 
The work of the preacher is greatly facilitated, 
when those among whom he labours have been 
familiar from their infancy with the truths of 
revelation. 

The chief design of Christianity, it is true, is 
to fit men for another life, to raise their hopes 
and affections to a state of endless purity and 
joy : but it accomplishes this end by turning them 
from darkness to light, and from the power of 
Satan unto God. While heaven and immortality 
are its objects, it leaves behind in its progress. 



ON IRELAND. [107 

thither the manifest impressions of its divinity. 
It proves a present blessing of incalculable value 
in every nation into which it is introduced; 
since freedom of enquiry, and science, and hu- 
manity are its effects ; since it produces those 
mild and silent virtues which meliorate the con- 
dition of the poor, and augment the happiness 
of the rich ; and since ignorance and super- 
stition must necessarily retire before its healthful 
and illuminating rays. False religion addresses 
itself to the passions and weaknesses of man ; 
the true enlightens his understanding in order to 
affect and purify his heart. It is Christianity 
alone that restores the poor and the forgotten of 
our species to their intellectual and moral rights; 
that enables them to feel and to act in a manner 
becoming the dignity and destiny of man ; that 
enforces with the awful sanction of divine au- 
thority, their claim to mental cultivation ; that 
maintains the worth and immortality of their 
nature not less than that of the rich and noble ; 
and that amid all the cares, and toils, and sor- 
rows, to which poverty exposes them, affords 
them thqse views, and hopes, and consolations, 
which make them intelligent, and cheerful, 
and happy. Is there, then, a man who pro- 
fesses to be a Christian, and yet refuses to 
enlighten the poor, to aid in educating the 
sons of misery and want, to disseminate the 



108] OBSERVATIONS 

knowledge of salvation in every direction? 
If there is, that man acts in opposition to the 
first precepts of revelation, to the spirit and 
design of the gospel, to the profession of re- 
ligion which he makes. It is in vain that such 
a man replies., that the inferior orders may be 
religious without being enlightened, and true 
Christians without learning to read: for no 
man can be possessed of the religion of Christ 
without some degree of knowledge ; and since 
that knowledge is obtained purest from the 
bible, the power of reading that sacred book is 
highly necessary. — But on this subject it is 
needless to argue, since the progress of vital 
Christianity, to every one who knows what that 
means, affords a certain pledge of the educa- 
tion of the poor, and the general increase of 
knowledge. 

Let the philosopher, who with the warm 
feelings of benevolence contemplates the in- 
creased happiness of man in distant ages, take 
into his calculations, the influence and power 
of Christianity in ameliorating his condition. 
There are moments, indeed, when a retrospec- 
tive view of the course of human affairs can 
afford him little confidence or hope for the 
time to come ; when melancholy reflections on 
the folly, and corruption, and mutation of man, in- 
duce him to consider the lovely pictures of ideal 



ON IRELAND. [109 

happiness, the lively prospects of the future for- 
tunes and destiny of the world, as the pleasing but 
visionary dream of the imagination ; and when 
the great beauty of virtue seems to be lost 
amid the endless imperfections with which it 
is surrounded. What can be more fitted to 
remove the anxieties which this state of mind 
occasions, than the friendly intimations of that 
pure religion which breathes peace and be-, 
nevolence to man ; intimations which confirm 
the doubtful deductions of reason as to the 
progressive advancement of our race to a 
higher state of political and moral happiness 
and improvement ! The loveliness of that 
happy and tranquil scene which its beautiful 
and impassioned language describes, exceeds 
even the sanguine hopes of the philanthropic 
heart : and though this may receive some , of 
its colouring from the figurative style of pro- 
phecy, the emotions which it awakens are by 
far too delightful to permit us calmly to question 
any part of its approaching reality. a . The 
wilderness and solitary place shall be glad; 
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice 
even with joy and singing. — For the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea." 

It must be allowed that the effects of true 
religion on the affairs of the world have hitherto 



1 10] OBSERVATIONS 

been very limited; its ameliorating influence 
has been greatly counteracted by a variety of 
concurring circumstances. Superstition and 
priestcraft, when they could not oppose its 
triumphant progress, enlisted under its banner, 
and assuming its hallowed name, erected a 
power which, during a long night of darkness, 
benumbed the energies of man. It is only 
yesterday that this power was destroyed ; 
and the consequences which have resulted from 
it are felt, and will be felt, in Europe for ages 
to come. But why may not, in the revolutions 
of the world, a similar power be again esta- 
blished on the dearest liberties of man? If 
superstition and priestcraft have existed in 
every period, and have contributed to embitter 
the happiness of human life, why may they not 
continue to exist, and be, as they have always 
been, the faithful allies of tyranny and every 
species of arbitrary government ? What reason 
have we to expect that religion will do more 
for the future than it has done in the past ; or, 
that its influence on the general interests 
of man will be more powerful and benign 
than it has ever been; or, that the various 
and changing circumstances which for eighteen 
centuries have obstructed its progress and per- 
verted its design, may not again and again, in 
perpetual succession, occur to obstruct and 



ON IRELAND. [Ill 

pervert them, and the world thus continue to be 
afflicted with the same calamities, and exhibit 
the same appearances of imbecility, and cor- 
ruption, and ignorance, and superstition, that 
it has always presented ? Melancholy, indeed, 
must be the feelings of the friend of man, 
could he bring himself to believe that all this 
were possible ; and that all the improvements 
which philosophy, and patriotism, and religion, 
may effect, are liable to be buried in the 
barbarism of future times. There are various 
circumstances however which encourage us to 
think that there is no just ground for enter- 
taining any such apprehensions ; that, on the 
contrary, religion will go on to bless and civi- 
lize the nations to an extent hitherto unknown. 
1. The extensive and almost universal cir- 
culation of the sacred writings is a circum- 
stance of itself which marks an sera of singular 
importance in the history of the world. The 
commencement of this sera may be dated from 
the reformation ; and the principles which led 
to it have been acquiring, in this country, ever 
since, additional strength and importance. While 
they are understood and acted upon, it seems 
impossible for superstition again to become 
powerful, or greatly to restrict the progress of 
free inquiry, or to retard the advancement of 
the moral improvement and happiness of man. 



112] OBSERVATIONS 

The circulation of the scriptures allows every 
one to exercise his own judgement, and that, 
too, on a subject which is of no less im- 
portance than the concerns of another world : 
the habit thus acquired of thinking for one's 
self cannot fail to be useful in all the depart- 
ments of life. 

2. The facilities which are afforded for edu- 
cating the inferior orders of the people, is 
another circumstance which tends to give reli- 
gion an extensive and permanent influence. 
The advantages arising from the instruction, 
of the populace, are now become palpably ma- 
nifest. Without this instruction, the circula- 
tion of the Scriptures, and the invention of 
the art of printing, can be of no lasting avail 
in preventing the return of the ignorance and 
barbarism of former times; since a bible can 
be of little use to him who cannot read, and 
the printing art is of still less utility where 
there is not the intelligence and energy in the 
people necessary to their contending for the liberty 
of the press.— But without being visionary, it is 
surely not too much to say, that education and 
religion combined are not only the best, but 
seem to be the only adequate, means for rendering 
permanent the blessings of a free government, 
and the comforts and endearments of civilized 
life. 



ON IRELAND. [113 

•3. Universal toleration is another circum- 
stance which has a favourable aspect on the 
progress of human affairs. This principle is 
now generally recognised ; and happily it is 
not less politically expedient, than it is sub- 
servient to the interests of true religion. It 
may, indeed, give rise to some theological dis- 
putation, as freedom of opinion does to dis- 
putation of every kind ; but while it leaves 
the energy of truth silently to produce its 
peaceful effects, it renders the narrowness and 
power of bigotry perfectly harmless* Be- 
sides, it appears to me, that in consequence of 
toleration, the nature and design of Christianity 
are much better understood than they have 
been for many centuries. The religion of 
Christ is now allowed by all parties to con- 
sist, not in ecclesiastical forms, but in a living 
principle of action, " an inwrought habit, a 
" pervading and informing spirit, from which 
<e indeed every act derives all its life, and 
" energy, and beauty." The general preva- 
lence of this sentiment gives the truths of re- 
velation a greater efficacy, diminishes the force 
of prepossession, softens the intercourse of so- 
ciety, and confers on the political union greater 
strength and harmony. 

These are some of the circumstances, which 
in addition to the explicit intimations of re- 

H 



1 14] OBSERVATIONS 

velation respecting the progressive improve- 
ment and illumination of the human race, are 
sufficient to encourage the hopes and exertion* 
of all good men. 



ON IRELAND. [11^ 



SECTION II. 

On the Education of the lower Orders of tht 
Irish. 

I think I may say, that of all the men we 
*.« meet with, nine parts of ten are what they 
" are, good or evil, useful or not, by their edu- 
" cation. 'Tis that which makes the great 
*' difference in mankind. The little or almost 
u insensible impressions on our tender infan- 
•* cies, have very important and lasting conse- 
*' quences : and there it is, as in the foun- 
*' tains of some rivers, where a gentle applica- 
" tion of the hand turns the flexible waters into 
<c channels, that make them take quite con- 
Cl trary courses ; and by this little direction 
4< given them at first in the source, they re- 
" ceive different tendencies, and arrive at last 
u at very remote and distant places*." This 
is the means, as* we have seen, by which the 
actions of the multitude may be rendered, in 
the highest degree, subservient to the security 
and happiness of the state. 

* Locke's Thoughts concerning Educatioo. 



116] OBSERVATIONS 

Before I consider the nature of those school* 
which should be introduced into Ireland, and 
the practicability of introducing them, ,it is 
proper to take some notice of such as have been 
already established. As early as the reign of 
James the Sixth, free schools were erected in 
several of the large towns : they have since 
been extended to some parts of the country. It 
appears from a late report of the Commissioners 
of the Board of Education in Ireland, that their 
number is greater than might have been sup- 
posed. Of 1122 benefices, returns have been 
made to the commissioners from 736 of these : 
by which it is shewn, that in this number of 
benefices there are 549 schools, at which 23,000 
children receive instruction. The course of in- 
struction comprises reading, writing, and arith- 
metic. The schools are open to children of all 
religious persuasions ; who, for the most part, 
pay for their education at rates, which vary 
from two shillings and six-pence, to five shil- 
lings and four-pence, and even as high as eleven 
shillings a quarter. It appears from the report, 
that there is a great want of proper school- 
masters and school-houses ; and that religious 
prejudices, more particularly in the south and 
west, have operated against the attendance on 
the schools. In the parish of Ballesidare^ 



ON IRELAND. [117 

diocese of Killala, there seems to be a general 
determination on the part of the Roman ca- 
tholics not to send their children to protestant 
schools, and vice versa. But " from the ge- 
" neral returns from all the dioceses, it is evi- 
" dent that a targe proportion of the children 
" attending the parish schools throughout Ire- 
<c land are of the Roman catholic religion ." 
The commissioners acknowledge that though 
a school similar to those which already exist, 
were established in every parish in Ireland, it 
would be perfectly inadequate to the instruction 
of the Irish poor. " And this inadequacy is 
* the reason (they say) of our not entering 
" more fully into the consideration of any plan 
" for putting them into a more effective situa- 
" tion, as such a plan might possibly interfere 
u with, or be superseded by, a general system 
" for the education of the po©r, the considera- 
<c tion of which is reserved for the conclusion 
" of our labours. We shall nevertheless at pre- 
" sent observe, that not any funds, however 
" great, or the best considered establishment, 
u can substantially carry into effect either any 
" improvement in the parish schools, or any 
" general system of instruction of the lower 
*' orders of the community, until the want of 
* c persons duly qualified to undertake the edu- 



1 18] OBSERVATIONS 

" cation of the lower classes be remedied, and 
" till some institution be formed to prepare 
" persons for that important office." 

On the substance of this report, I shall make 
a few remarks. It should be recollected then, 
that in Ireland there are no legal establish- 
ments similar to the parochial schools of Scot- 
land : what the commissioners call parish 
schools, are those in which the teacher re- 
ceives the principal r»art of his salary either 
from Xhe recent or remote endowments of 
government. These charitable foundations were, 
in former times, very greatly misapplied, not 
by those who appointed them, but by such 
as received their benefit.— Though the cha- 
racter and conduct of the school-masters of 
the present day, be considerably improved, 
yet it is right that those gentlemen who super- 
intend the free schools of Ireland should be 
on their guard against imposition. 

Those schools that are called protestant 
charter schools in Ireland, are far from being 
adapted for popular instruction. Great sums 
are annually expended for their support, whilst 
their utility is extremely limited. This arises, 
partly from the narrow principle of confining 
them to protestants, or to the children of such 
Roman catholics as allow their offspring to be 



ON IRELA.ND. [119 

educated in the reformed religion ; and partly 
from the circumstance of their being" boarding 
schools. A general system of education, to 
make it useful, must be conducted on the most 
popular plan. National education should be 
directed to general utility ; general utility can- 
not be pursued, while we confine our views 
to one particular sect or class. Education, to 
be generally useful, must be something, in 
which all without reluctance may co-operate. 
Intolerance must not counterfeit the amiable 
countenance, and clothe herself in the venerable 
garb of charity, that she may grasp with pro- 
fane hand, the funds that should be consecrated 
to the most holy purposes,— to the diffusion of 
practical morality — of general industry — of 
national prosperity. 

In these protestant charter schools, " the 
children are too much at the mercy of the 
masters and mistresses ; and too little judge- 
ment is shewn in the selection of the persons 
who are invested with the important trust of 
educating these children. The consequences 
are such as might naturally be expected; fre^ 
quently gross inattention, or worse, with re- 
spect to the cleanliness, the diet, and apparel 
of the children, as well as to their morals, and 
progress in industry. Hence, it too frequently 



120] OBSERVATIONS 

comes to pass, that when the charter school 
children are taken as apprentices, to be trained 
up as domestic servants, or instructed in manu- 
factures, they most commonly prove slothful, 
dirty, and vicious *." 

In the report of the commissioners there is not 
one word about teaching- the children in the 
Irish language : from their silence we may 
infer that there is no such thing taught ; 
though of this I was previously aware from 
personal observation. Now, it is most certain 
that in the diocese of Killala, to which the 
report refers, the lower orders of the Roman 
catholics, or the greater part, understand 
no continued discourse but in Irish: this is 
the only language in which they think, in 
which they converse among themselves, and to 
which they are accustomed in their chapels. 
To go to such a diocese, therefore, to erect 
English schools for their instruction, does not 
appear perfectly absurd, only because the public 
mind has not been sufficiently informed to con- 
sider it in this light. , I have already had oc- 
casion to observe that the Roman catholics 
jn such districts are, in general, prejudiced 



* Preston's Essay on the Natural Advantages of Ireland, 
p. 148. 



ON IRELAND. [121 

against the English language : their hostility to 
protestantism they transfer to the only tongue 
which they have ever heard protectants use ; 
and they are confirmed in this hostility by the 
insinuations of their priests, who uniformly 
address them in the endearing and endeared 
speech of their fathers. We might expect, 
therefore, a priori, that they would discover 
some prejudice against a mere English school ; 
that all their prepossessions as to Catholicism, 
and all their fears as to heresy, would be 
awakened. This accordingly has been the case ; 
the experiment has been tried ; and the result 
confirms the truth of this opinion. " It cer- 
tainly, however, appears," say the commissioners, 
'*' from our returns, that religious prejudices, 
" in too many parts of this country, but more 
<c particularly in the south and west, have ope- 
f? rated against the attendance on the parish 
* c schools. " Now, the south and west of Ireland 
are those very parts in which the Irish is chiefly 
spoken, and where there are comparatively 
few protestants. 

I might perhaps be confounded, and even 
hesitate as to the truth of the opinion which 
I hold on this subject, from the confident asser- 
tions of some Anglo-Hibernians, were it not 
that I have actually been in the west of Ireland, 



122j OBSERVATIONS 

and have it in my power, from repeated and 
continued observation, to form my judgement. 
Wherever it was announced that the scrip- 
tures would be read in the Irish language, 
crowds of catholics came to hear, who never 
till then heard a protestant read the bible ; 
and I shall ever recollect the manifest- pleasure 
with which they seemed to receive instruc- 
tion, the seriousness and devotion with which 
they listened. Those gentlemen who were ac- 
customed to oppose every effort to enlighten 
the people otherwise than in the English 
tongue, who witnessed this singular scene, were 
not only satisfied from that period of the fallacy 
of their notions, but of the indispensible obliga- 
tion and necessity of pursuing that mode of 
instruction for which I always have contended. 
One of these gentlemen was once strongly 
opposed to this mode, from the idea that it 
would take much time and labour to teach 
them Irish 3 and that though the people could 
not understand English, yet it was useless to 
publish the Scriptures in Irish, since there were 
few who could read it. From the time to 
which I refer, however, he was of a very differ- 
ent opinion. " It is true," says he, " very 
«* few of the people can read ; and is it not 
" equally easy to teach them to read English 



ON IRELAND. [123 

" as any other tongue ? To this it may be 
" answered ; First, though they should be taught 
" to read English, they cannot understand it so 
" as to reap any benefit from it. Secondly, 
" they have not the same desire to learn English, 
" especially from a protestant school-master, as 
€i Irish. In the one case, there is no feeling 
4 - of patriotism awakened, no favourite pre- 
" judice flattered : in the other, both these ends 
" are attained ; and that of which an Hibernian 
" is most disposed to be proud, is rendered sub- 
" servient to his intellectual and moral im- 
u provement. Thirdly, from the extreme 
" attachment of the people to their own tongue, 
" there is not the same probability of success- 
u fully accomplishing the ends of education 
" by teaching them Xo read in another." 

These are some of the reasons which indu- 
ced Mr. , in ike diocese of Killala, to 

change his opinions on this important subject; 
and I think they will appear conclusive to any 
one who candidly considers them. The truth 
of the first seems self evident. For example, 
how could the populace of England derive any 
benefit from teaching them to read French, — 
to read the bible in this language ? The task 
would be so arduous as to make its accomplish- 
ment hopeless, and if not hopeless, it would be" 



124] OBSERVATIONS 

nearly useless. The case is very nearly the same 
with regard to that part of the population in Ire- 
land to which I refer, with this difference, it 
may be, that the English populace would be 
probably furnished with dictionaries, were they 
obliged to read the bible only in the French 
language; whereas, the poor Irish, in learn- 
ing to read English, learn merely to read 
it, without understanding it, and many of the 
Highlanders are to this dav placed in the same 
absurd circumstances. Will it furnish the 
mind of a poor child with any knowledge as to 
his duty, with any principle of piety and devo- 
tion, with any beautiful example of filial affec- 
tion, to impress his memory and to warm his 
heart, to read a chapter the meaning of which 
he does not understand ? It may seem prepos- 
terous to dwell so long on what appears so 
very plain ; and so it certainly would be, if only 
a few obscure individuals had erroneous notions 
on the subject. But when schools are esta- 
blished, even under the patronage of the 
Board of Education, on the principle that such 
notions, erroneous as they are, and as they must 
doubtless appear to every one who fully and 
impartially considers them, are just, it becomes 
a duty to write obvious remarks even at the risk 
*>f writing truisms. The subject is infinitely 



ON IRELAND. [125 

important as it regards the immediate and effec- 
tual instruction of the lower orders of the Irish; 
it has been misunderstood too long ; and to persist 
in this misunderstanding 1 is not less criminal 
than it is foolish, since it involves the most se- 
rious consequences to a great part of the popula- 
tion of Ireland. Ought that population to 
be instructed or not? if they ought, is it not 
singularly perverse to disregard the only pos- 
sible way in which this can be effectually 
accomplished ? This mode of communicating 
knowledge may perhaps be neglected ; in that 
case the people will remain ignorant and super- 
titious ; they will be the source of poverty and 
wretchedness to themselves ; they will continue 
turbulent and barbarous, and that empire which 
might have made them its glory and defence, 
will have them for a thorn in its side. — And is 
this a time coldly to speculate on the advan- 
tages of abolishing for ever the Irish lan- 
guage, — of refusing to instruct a people who 
want to be instructed, unless they under- 
stand a dialect which they cannot and will not 
understand ? When the whole of Europe is 
prostrate at the foot of the tyrant, when it has 
become the duty and the destiny of Britain to 
contend for the liberties of the world, to contend 
for its own independence and existence, how 



126] OBSERVATIONS 

great is the infatuation, not to embrace every 
measure of uniting- the people, of removing 
every cause of suspicion in the government^ 
every cause of even seeming -grievance in the 
subject, of enlightening, improving, and civi- 
lizing every part of the population ! 

The commissioners conclude their report by 
observing, that no fund however great, and 
no system of education however excellent, can 
be adequate to the instruction of the Irish poor 
till an institution be formed to qualify teachers 
for their important office. — In Ireland it has 
always been difficult, in many instances impos- 
sible, to procure proper school-masters; and 
this difficulty arises from the general ignorance 
and depression of the people. But how is this 
evil to be obviated ? Is it by establishing a se- 
minary in which young men may be qualified 
to become teachers, or, by offering such a re- 
ward as to make the supply necessarily answer 
the demand? In the former mode of obtaining 
a supply of suitable teachers, there are two cir- 
cumstances which deserve some consideration. 
In the first place, there is necessarily a great 
expence incurred. Suppose there are in a se- 
minary two hundred young men, and no such 
seminary can fully answer the purpose of its 
institution if it have less, the board and educa- 
tion of each of these must amount at least to 



ON IRELAND. [127 

thirty guineas annually, which altogether comes 
to six thousand guineas. This is too large an 
expenditure for the support of any institution, 
the necessity of whose erection is not absolutely 
imperious, and perfectly apparent. In the second 
place, is it not probable that many of those that 
may be educated at a seminary will not be dis- 
posed to continue school-masters ? When 
they have got some education, may they not ima- 
gine that they can improve their condition much 
better in another way than that of a parochial 
teacher of youth? In this case, though their 
education is of great advantage to themselves, 
it is a loss to the institution in which it was ob- 
tained. 

On the other hand, is it not possible, with- 
out any preparatory seminary, to make the sup- 
ply of school-masters answer the demand ? I 
am of opinion that this is very possible. In 
Scotland there is no difficulty felt in procuring 
school-masters for the establishment of the 
Society for promoting christian knowledge, 
which only gives £ 15 per annum. Now I am 
very certain, that every parish in Ireland may 
be supplied at any time from this country by 
offering a salary less than the double of that 
sum, in addition to a trifling fee from the 
scholars. In the highlands of Scotland there are 
many young men, who are not only qualified to 



128] OBSERVATIONS 

teach reading, writing and arithmetic, but also 
to -teach the Irish natives to read in their own 
language, and who would consider themselves 
well provided for by an appointment to a salary 
of j£'2o 9 with a house. Nor are their moral en- 
dowments less suitable than their literary ; they 
are sober, and steady, virtuous, and persevering, 
and are therefore most capable of encountering 
the difficulties to which, as Irish school-masters, 
they may be exposed. — Here, then, is not only an 
immediate supply of teachers, but that kind of 
supply which the circumstances of Ireland most 
want; men who, in consequence of their acquain- 
tance with the Gaelic language, can, in three 
months after their landing in that country, under- 
stand the Irish as well as any native, and in 
favour of whom the Irish people are already 
greatly prepossessed. The expence of a pre- 
paratory seminary is thus saved, and will go a 
considerable way towards the support of an 
extensive system of education. 

These remarks receive confirmation from 
the plan which has been pursued by the Hi- 
bernian Society. They support between thirty 
and forty schools : some of their teachers are 
from the Highlands ; others are native Irish. 
They have published an Irish spelling book, 
which, together with the bible in the same 
language, are the only books for reading 



ON IRELAND. [129 

used in their schools : and they employ Ro- 
man Catholic teachers on the condition that 
no other books are introduced into the schools, 
With such liberal views, with such a sound 
and rational system of education, so efficient 
and conciliating", it is impossible for them, 
even on their limited scale, not to be success- 
ful, and eminently usefid. 

But what is the nature of that general 
system of education which shall prove ade- 
quate to the instruction of the Irish poor ? 
This is a question of the greatest importance, 
and merits a most serious attention. In a 
country, where the people are ignorant and 
superstitious beyond the conceptions or belief 
of the inhabitants of Britain, and where bi- 
gotry and prejudice exist in the same propor- 
tion, that system of education must indeed be 
happily constituted, which will have the ef- 
fect of awakening from the stupor of barba- 
rism and error, which will neither be regard- 
less of the prejudices, nor inadequate to the 
wants of the populace. Such a system should 
be universal in its extent, — formed on liberal 
principles, — and minutely accommodated to the 
varying circumstances of the people. 

It should be universal in its extent. It there- 
fore evidently must come from government 
alone : private societies may do some good, but 

I 



180] OBSERVATIONS 

infinitely less than what is required. At any 
rate the education of the inferior orders seems a 
matter far too important to be left to the casual 
and uncertain efforts of benevolent associations. 
Indeed, there seems no way in which education 
can become universal but by a legal establish- 
ment of Parochial Schools. In every parish, 
therefore, in Ireland, there should be at least one 
school ; not supported by uncertain charities, but 
by the proprietors, under the express authority 
of law : or, if one school be found inadequate, 
as I believe in most instances it will, let there 
be two. These, if conducted on the plan re- 
commended by Bell or Lancaster, will be found 
sufficient in all the country parishes to afford 
instruction to the youth which they contain; 
at all events they will go a great way towards 
supplying the deficiency. — As to the salary of 
the school-master, it should be respectable and 
yet moderate : if it be high, it will render him 
independent of his own exertions, and indifferent 
as to the number or the improvement of his 
pupils; if it be too low, it will render him incon- 
veniently dependent on his scholars, and con- 
sequently less respectable. I should imagine 
that £ 25 on an average would be reckoned 
throughout Ireland a good salary; with the 
addition no doubt of a house, and school-wages 
at an inferior rate. 



ON IRELAND. [131 

It has been thought by some, that the most 
efficient way in which government can pro- 
mote the education of the various orders of 
the people, is by making the accomplishments 
of reading, writing, and arithmetic, essentially 
necessary to every subject at a certain age, or 
when entering on the different pursuits and 
professions into which human life is divided. 
" The public can impose upon almost the 
<c whole body of the people the necessity of 
" acquiring those most essential parts of educa- 
" tion, by obliging every man to undergo an 
" examination or probation in them before he 
" can obtain the freedom in any corporation, or 
<f be allowed to set up any trade either in a 
H village or town corporate. 

<c It was in this manner, by facilitating the 
<c acquisition of their military and gymnastic 
*' exercises, by encouraging it, and even by im- 
" posing on the whole body of the people the 
M necessity of learning those exercises, that the 
" Greek and Roman republics maintained the 
* martial spirit of their respective citizens. 
u They facilitated the acquisition of those ex- 
" ercises by appointing a certain place for learn- 
" ing and practising them, and by granting to 
u certain masters the privilege of teaching in 
" that place. Those masters do not appear to 
12 



132] OBSERVATIONS 

" have had either salaries or exclusive privi- 
" leges of any kind. Their reward consisted al- 
" together in what they got from their scholars; 
cc and a citizen who had learned his exercises 
" in the public gymnasia, had no sort of legal 
H advantage over one who had learned them pri- 
" vately, provided the latter had learned them 
" equally well. Those republics encouraged 
" the acquisition of those exercises, by bestow- 
ff ing little premiums, and badges of distinc- 
a tion upon those who excelled in them*." 

This stimulus in the present state of socie- 
ty, would, of itself, prove inadequate to the 
promotion of general education ; though uni- 
ted with parochial schools its utility must be 
immense. The public may distribute among 
the youth attending these seminaries prizes and 
badges of honour, which, though trifling in them- 
selves, will excite emulation, and will greatly 
further the ends of instruction, By this means 
the people are not only put in possession of the 
means of education, but reminded that the ac- 
complishments which they acquire at school, 
are necessary to the improvement of their con- 
dition, to their advancement in the path of 
distinction and honour. 

But in order to render a national system 

* Smith's Inquiry, &c. v. iii.*p. 188. 



ON IRELAND. [133 

of education truly useful in Ireland, it must 
be formed on the most liberal principles ; there 
must be nothing- connected with it unnecessarily 
offensive to the prejudices of the natives. Any 
inattention to this circumstance will render 
useless the best scheme of national education. 
It becomes the more needful to advert to it, 
since it appears that there is a party in the 
country whose proscribing notions will not per- 
mit them to encourage any national plan of 
education, unless the catechism and liturgy 
of a particular church be employed; a party 
that would rather witness the fair fields of 
Ireland lying waste and desert, than that any 
means of culture should be applied different 
from those which the episcopal body has ap- 
pointed. When a poor nonconformist or me- 
thodist happens, from pure benevolence, to 
collect a few straggling and ragged children, 
and teaches them to read the bible, and at- 
tempts to impress its beautiful morality on 
their yielding hearts, these gentlemen exclaim 
against it as a deadly sin, as a most base, in- 
sidious, and heretical act, because the cate- 
chism and liturgy of the English church have 
not been consulted. If those poor children, 
to whose instruction the parish clergyman pays 
no regard, are so fortunate as to be taught 
by a quaker or methodist, this said clergy* 



134] OBSERVATIONS 

man must have it that the church is in danger 
from the zeal and enthusiasm of dissenters. 
This conduct is certainly too contemptible to 
be taken notice of, were it not for the in- 
fluence it may have on the destiny of Ire- 
land. 

Here it is manifest, that no liturgy or church 
catechism belonging to any Protestant church 
can be employed in any system of national 
education which may be introduced; since in 
that case the catholics will consider them- 
selves excluded. The bible, however, may be 
introduced without offending their prejudices. 
It is read in all the schools that are under 
the patronage of the Hibernian Society, where 
children of every religious denomination attend ; 
— And surely this, as a religious book, is suf- 
ficient, without any commentary, to improve 
and enlighten ;~ to promote all the ends of 
christian morality. Indeed, it seems not a 
little singular, that professing christians should 
oppose a plan of instruction in which the 
daily reading of the sacred writings is in- 
cluded, and where the benefit of millions is 
concerned, because their favourite catechetical 
exposition, is, for reasons of expediency, omitted. 
In the case of Ireland, we have to consider, 
not what is the best possible system of edu- 
cation, and what those religious books are 



ON IRFXAND. [135 

which in such a system should be included, 
but the nature of that plan which is adapted 
to existing" circumstances, which is universally 
practicable and efficient. 

In the last place, a national system of edu- 
cation in Ireland, in order to be useful, should 
be minutely accommodated to the varying cir- 
cumstances of the people. It is of so great 
importance to attend to this peculiarity, that 
the very best scheme of instruction will be 
frustrated by its neglect. — If, for example, the 
school- masters in those districts where the Irish 
is spoken, are acquainted only with the English 
language, and are unable to teach the people 
in their own tongue, it is perfectly evident that 
little good can be expected. Though half a 
dozen of such school-masters should be ap- 
pointed to each parish, their exertions will 
be of little avail to remote ignorance and 
superstition; to conciliate the favour and se- 
cure the good will of the natives, while they 
are ignorant of the only tongue through which 
these natives can receive information. The 
first qualification requisite for the majority of 
Irish teachers, though there should be one in 
every parish, is a knowledge of the Irish lan- 
guage. Without it, their best eiforts will be 
almost useless; with it, the happiest effects 
will result in a very few years : and that po- 



1 30] OBSERVATIONS 

puliation which is now sunk in poverty and 
wretchedness, and which some consider as dan- 
gerous to the security of the British empire, 
will gradually rise to comfort and opulence, 
and by their firm and steady attachment to 
the liberties of their country, will remove the 
suspicions and jealousies which their more for- 
tunate brethren entertain respecting them. 

After all, is the introduction of the plan of 
education, which I have ndw adverted to rather 
than described, practicable? In ascertaining 
the truth on this particular, it is necessary to 
attend to the extent of funds requisite, to the 
facility or difficulty of procuring qualified 
teachers, and to the disposition which the Irish 
discover to receive instruction. — As to the fund 
necessary to support a national system of 
education, it must no doubt be very considerable ; 
but when viewed in relation to the magnitude 
and utility of the object which it is to pro- 
mote, and to the wealth of that country and 
government from whose revenue it must pro- 
ceed, it will appear trifling. That sum of 
money must indeed be immense, which is too 
great to be expended in removing ignorance, 
in diminishing vice, in increasing the intel- 
lectual strength and resources of the empire, 
in rendering less necessary the presence of 
military power, and in augmenting the happines* 



OX IRELAND. [137 

of the very useful though inferior orders of 
society. The money expended in this way, 
though its returns are not direct, . is far from 
being fruitless: it may with propriety be 
compared to the exercise of the husbandman 
in sowing the seed, which, to a perfect stran- 
ger to agriculture, may appear folly, since 
the scattered corn may seem for ever lost . 
as the abundant crop, however, rewards the pa- 
tience of the husbandman, he receives the grain 
which he has committed to the earth many 
fold : so, that national system of education 
which requires much labour and a large expen- 
diture of wealth, and whose cost seems im- 
mensely disproportionate to the effects which 
it produces, will imperceptibly tend to enrich 
the empire by an increase of industry, of enter- 
prising genius, and will ultimately more than 
compensate for all the money which its insti- 
tution and support have required. It is, then, 
so far from being a pecuniary loss, a con- 
siderable gain to the state with which it is 
connected; it directly saves money to the go- 
vernment by rendering the presence of an ex- 
tensive military establishment unnecessary ; and 
it puts the whole community in possession of 
those qualities and powers by which its opulence 
and prosperity are indefinitely augmented. 
Besides, the fund requisite to support a na- 



188] OBSERVATIONS 

tional system of education in Ireland is not 
so great as it might seem. The salary of a 
school-master in that country, may, owing to 
the cheapness of provisions, be very moderate ; 
while the trifling fee which in most cases it 
will be expedient to receive from the scholars, 
will form an important addition to the teacher's 
income. 

I have already expressed my opinion as to 
the possibility of procuring an adequate supply 
of school-masters. There are many in the 
Highlands of Scotland, who for a small salary, 
and on account of the respectability which 
they associate with the character of a teacher, 
would willingly go to Ireland. The number 
of candidates will increase with the demand: 
if this be great, there will be no scarcity in 
the market. And for my own part, I can 
perceive no obstacle whatever arising from the 
want of school- masters, to the establishment of 
an universal system of national education in 
that country. 

But the most important of all inquiries on 
this subject is, are the people of Ireland dis- 
posed to favour the establishment of schools; 
are they anxious to educate and enlighten their 
children? And, yet, when we advert to some 
circumstances connected with the history of 
Ireland, this question, when put with regard 



ON IRELAND. [139 

to it, seems superfluous; since the people of 
that country have been distinguished for the 
efforts which at former periods they have made 
to acquire some share of book-learning". 1 
do not mean to say that education was at any 
period common among* them, or that knowledge 
was at any time greatly diffused ; but it is certain 
that individuals in the lowest situation of life, 
in order to acquire information, have struggled 
with the difficulties of their lot, and begged 
their bread rather than suffer themselves to 
remain in total ignorance*. Every one has 
heard of the hedp;e schools, so common in 
Ireland, where crowds of poor children on 
the side of the road are taught to read and 
write. In every instance where the Irish lan- 
guage is taught, and where there is no of- 
fence given to the prejudices of the natives, 
parents discover the utmot solicitude to have 
their offspring instructed, and almost universally 
send them to school. Wherever I travelled 
in Ireland, the poor in their cabins regretted 
the want of teachers, and seemed very anxious 
to afford their children some learning, 

It appears then that no serious obstacles 

*I was astonished to find in the wildest part of Domiegal- 
shire, a man with neither shoes nor stockings, who gave 
me a very clear and correct account of the peculiarities 
©f Irish grammar. 



140] OBSERVATIONS 

oppose the introduction of parochial schools 
into Ireland. The people are willing to re- 
ceive them ; school-masters may easily be pro- 
cured ; and a government of so many re- 
sources as the British can scarcely grudge 
the mouey expended in their support. It 
should be recollected, however, that every 
thing depends on those under whose superin- 
tendence such schools must in some degree be 
placed. 



ON IRELAND. [141 



SECTION III. 



On the Utility of Preaching in the Irish 
Language. 



I have adverted so frequently to the propriety 
of instructing 1 the people of Ireland through 
the medium of their own language, that it is 
unnecessary to enter into any farther disquisi- 
tions on the subject. If, however, preaching 
be considered as a most popular and efficient 
means of communicating knowledge, and if 
the best system of national education be deemed 
incomplete without it, the manner in which 
it is conducted in the protest ant church in 
Ireland, and its perfect inutility while it is 
thus conducted to a great part of the Irish 
population, merits the most serious attention. 
While the repose of the Roman Catholic 
Church remained undisturbed in that country, 
the priests, except a very few who were within 
the English pale, understood the Irish lan- 
guage: and though, from the custom of the 
religious body with which they were connected, 
they performed divine service in the Latin 
tongue, they were able to recommend them- 



142] OBSERVATIONS 

selves to the people by speaking that which was 
vernacular. When episcopacy, however, was 
established in place of the old religion, owing 
partly to a difficulty of procuring proper pastors, 
and partly owing to the prejudices of the English* 
the churches were supplied with ministers who 
were not only ignorant of the tongue which 
the great majority of the people understood, 
but affected to despise it as what they called the 
language of Catholicism, and of the wild Irish. 
This prejudice was increased prodigiously after 
the termination of the civil war, which was con- 
cluded by the treaty of Limerick : the penal 
laws which before this period were scarcely 
felt, were now rigorously put in execution; and 
the intellectual, and moral, and religious 
claims of the unfortunate Irish, were from this 
sera totally disregarded. To the present day 
there is not one clergyman in the Established 
Church of Ireland, who preaches in that dia- 
lect in which alone they can be intelligible to 
most of their people *. 

There seems to be only two ways in which 
this evil can be remedied : the one is, by obli- 
ging every clergyman who is presented to a 
living where the Irish is spoken, to acquire 



* This remark is obviously to be restricted to those parts 
of Ireland where the Irish is spoken. 



ON IRELAND. [143 

that language so as to be able to preach through 
its medium ; the other is to employ dissenters 
or presbyterians from Scotland, who are ac- 
quainted with the Gaelic. As to the first of 
these methods, it is not very likely that it will 
ever be followed ; if it were adopted, however, 
the happy effects which must result are incal- 
culable. It would present the Established 
Church, to that part of the Irish population 
who only understand the Irish language, in a 
light in which they have never been accustomed 
to view her. The clergy would acquire an 
influence and popularity with the people, of the 
extent of which they are not at present aware; 
and the most efficient means of reforming the 
multitude, and of converting them from the 
errors of popery, would be fairly placed within 
their power. Though the execution of this 
plan is certainly attended with difficulties, these 
do not seem to be insuperable. It is competent 
for the legislature to say, that in any specified 
district after a certain period, no clergyman can 
be considered qualified to accept of a living, 
unless he is able to preach in the Irish tongue. 
The second plan is, perhaps, the more 
practicable, and its execution, therefore, is the 
more probable. In this country there are many 
from the Highlands educated for the church 
of Scotland, who, if supported by govern- 



144] OBSKRVATIOx\S 

merit, might be inclined to exercise their minis 
try in Ireland. These, if truly pious and prudent, 
and sufficiently numerous, would by their la- 
bours improve the moral condition of the people, 
and give an increased effect, by their example 
and instructions, to any system of education 
which may be established. It is surely very 
evident, that though the people should be edu- 
cated, they suffer great disadvantages while 
there is no information afforded them from the 
pulpit, while there is no familiar exposition given 
them of the doctrines and morality of that sacred 
book which the exercises of the school have 
enabled them to read. It is not only necessary 
for children to have their infant minds impressed 
with the principles of truth, and piety, and 
righteousness : the same impression must be 
made again in endless succession through life, 
before the character can be fully formed, and 
the powers and passions of the mind be rendered 
obsequious to the dictates of reason and religion. 
The divine Author of the Christian Religion, 
in appointing the sabbath for purposes of de- 
votion and instruction, has graciously accom- 
modated his institutions to the weaknesses and 
returning necessities of man. The great body 
of the people, who are incessantly occupied 
with the business and cares of life, and who 
liave little leisure to attend carefully to th« 



ON IRELAND. [145 

formation of their principles and habits, are 
indebted, for the most part, to the pulpit 
for the religious knowledge which they possess* 
and for that tender, and consoling, and sublime 
devotion which cheers and supports amid the 
varied hardships to which they are exposed. 
How melancholy then is the situation of those, 
who, with all the hardships, and temptations, 
and trials of human life, want the cheering" hopes, 
the enlightened instruction, the soothing and 
ameliorating consolations, by which the Author 
of our nature has intended to soften and sanctify 
the path to the grave ! Yet, these are the cir- 
cumstances in which many of the people of 
Ireland are placed : they are destitute, not 
merely of education, but of that moral and 
religious instruction which is conveyed by 
preaching. Though the state has liberally en- 
dowed the Established Church, there is a 
considerable proportion of the Irish population, 
who, on account of their ignorance 'of the Eng- 
lish language, can derive no benefit whatever 
from the sermons which are there delivered. 
The method which I have pointed out, of pro- 
curing preachers from Scotland acquainted 
with the Gaelic, presents an immediate, and 
perhaps the only practicable remedy for this 
evil. 

It will be said, that a sufficient number cannot 
K 



146] OBSERYATT ONS 

be procured from Scotland; that the supply of 
preachers of the requisite description is not 
adequate to answer the demand, from the High- 
lands. There is an acknowledged principle in 
political economy which obviates this difficulty, 
that the supply in the market of any commodity 
will, in all ordinary circumstances, correspond 
to the demand. Preachers, though their cha- 
racter be sacred, and the duties of their office 
holy, resemble in this respect every other pro- 
fession and every other commodity. Their 
number will be diminished or increased in 
proportion to the encouragement which is af- 
forded them, and to the demand which the 
religious necessities of the public create. In 
the present case, it is no doubt peculiarly ne- 
cessary to attend to the character, and piety, 
and tempered zeal of such Christian instructors, 
as are sent to a country like Ireland ; since a 
total deficiency in these qualities must be at- 
tended with the worst consequences. 

As to the expediency and necessity of adopt- 
ing, with regard to Ireland, some such plan as 
1 have been here recommending, it will readily 
be admitted by all who are capable of judging 
on the subject, and on which, therefore, 1 think 
it idle to enlarge. But surely I may say, that 
while Christian Missionaries are sent forth to 
the Islands of the South Sea, to India, and 



ON IRELAND. [147 

Africa, the moral and religious instruction of a 
people so closely linked to us, in civil and po- 
litical interest as the Irish should not be en- 
tirely neglected. Should this, however, be the 
case, and should the powerful claims of this un- 
fortunate people be overlooked, T have the sa- 
tisfaction to think that I have done my duty in 
urging them on the attention of my country- 
men. 



JT2 



148] OBSERVATIONS 



CHAP. XII. 



ON THE POVERTY OF THE PEASANTRY AND 
INFERIOR ORDERS OF THE IRISH. 

I HE condition of the inferior orders of a 
people affords a good criterion by which the 
prosperity and happiness of the community may 
be ascertained. Wherever this is wretchedly poor, 
as in Italy and in Ireland, though there may be 
many wealthy individuals in the nation, there 
must be some causes either moral or political 
which affect the general improvement of the 
people, and it is our duty to attempt the disco- 
very of these in place of blaming them for 
obstinate stupidity. 

The poverty of the tenantry and labouring 
classes in Ireland arises from a combination of 
circumstances, to some of which I have already 
alluded. There are some subordinate peculiarities 
in their situation which on this subject should be 
attended to. — It has been said by travellers that 
they are indolent, and that their extreme po 
verty is occasioned by a want of industry. But 
this is saying nothing to the purpose, since it 
pnly informs us that they are poor without as- 



ON IRELAND. [140 

signing an adequate cause. For what is it 
that makes one people lazy, and another 
active and industrious ? It is not the physical 
influence of the climate, (though perhaps where 
the difference of latitude is great, it may have 
some slight effect on the human constitution;) 
it is motive presented to the mind that makes 
a nation laborious and rich. A nation is made 
up of individuals, and as every individual will 
exert himself in proportion to the stimulus 
which he has to exertion, so will a whole na- 
tion be industrious, in proportion as it has 
encouragement to industry. Now, as it re- 
gards Ireland, the three general causes which 
retard the improvement of a people, political 
arrangement, national religion, and inveterate 
prejudice, will be found to unite. 

First, with regard to national religion: and 
here let it be observed that I call the Roman 
Catholic the national religion, though it is not 
the established, since it is professed by th^ 
great body of the people. There is one way 
in which this is evidently injurious to the in* 
dustry and morals of those who are under its 
influence; I refer to the many days of idle- 
ness and dissipation which it prescribes. This 
was remarked by Arthur Dobbs, who wrote 
a treatise on the improvement of Ireland eighty 
years ago: referring to the holidays, he says, 



150] OBSERVATIONS 

" these they spend in idleness, to the loss of 
the public and their own detriment, half star- 
ving their families by not working a competent 
part of their time. Nor would it be a detri- 
ment, if we lessened the number of our own 
legal holidays, and had more working days: 
for since the original intention of them is not 
complied with, to frequent the church for in- 
struction and prayers, the public ought not to 
suffer the loss, by their making it a cloak for 
idleness and debauchery." 

" I shall here beg leave to make a gross 
computation of the loss the nation sustains by 
the great number of our holidays and by the 
still greater number of the popish holidays." 

u There are twenty-six popish holidays kept 
in England, more than the thirty-two kept by 
our law : but by our Irish calendar I appre- 
hend, there are many more; for in an alma- 
nack I have seen some time ago, in which 
the popish holidays were distinguished, I have 
observed at least forty-nine more than our law 
allows; considering also that the common Irish 
papists keep St. Patrick's day, his wife's, and 
wife's mother's, with many others equally ridi- 
culous, I believe that number is of the least. 
However, as in all my computations, I have 
endeavoured to be within the truth, I shall 
here only suppose them twenty-six as in Eng* 



ON IRELAND. [151 

la d, and form a calculation from that number. 
I c b^erved before, that there are at least 
1,669,644 persons in Ireland. I suppose of 
this number 1,200,000 are papists of all ages; 
a d 60«J,000 of these capable of gaining five 
pence per day, one day with another, by ser- 
vice, labour, manufacture, or spinning; there 
being then twenty-six popish holidays, each 
person loses ten shillings and ten pence, which 
multiplied by the number of labouring persons, 
amounts annually to s£ 325,000, lost to the 
kingdom by the popish holidays alone. — These 
days are now spent in debauchery and rioting, 
by those who ought to labour; whilst perhaps 
their children are half starved at home, or 
turn idle, and beg and steal, to support them- 
selves. Would it not then be more reasonable 
to lessen the number of our own legal holi- 
days, by taking away such days as keep up 
the spirit of division and parties among us; 
than to connive at the idling away of those 
not allowed by law % which the papists do at 
present to the great prejudice of the king- 
dom." 

It is not, however, on the influence of holi- 
days in directly preventing labour and dimi- 
nishing the national wealth, that I feel disposed 
to place most stress, but on their tendency 
indirectly to produce idleness and immorality. 



152] OBSERVATIONS 

A man who spends a sixth of his whole time 
at the amusements of holidays, at fairs, and 
wakes, and funerals, and perhaps on all these 
occasions drinks whisky to excess, is not very 
likely to acquire those habits of sobriety, and 
plodding industry, which in any condition are 
highly useful, but which, in that of a working 
man, are essential to competence and comfort. 
It is not merely the time that is spent idly, 
it is the manner in which it is spent that 
chiefly affects national morals, and consequently 
national wealth. It is probable that in a coun- 
try such as Scotland, where the people observe 
the Sunday with religious veneration, and con- 
sider every species of levity and intemperance 
on that day with abhorrence, there is as much 
work performed in the course of the year, as 
though every seventh day were devoted to la- 
bour. In this case, there is not only an absti- 
nence from those excesses which form bad 
tabits, but there is attention given to the pre- 
cepts of that pure religion, which forms those 
that are virtuous and useful. In many coun- 
ties of Ireland, the Sunday may be added, as 
it respects the catholic population, to the 
number of pernicious holidays, since they ge- 
nerally spend the greater part of it, not in 
acts of devotion, but in drinking, and dancing, 



ON IRELAND. [15$ 

and fighting. * The morning, indeed, by some, 
may be employed at chapel, where the priest 
unfortunately seldom thinks it necessary to 
impart any instruction, further than an oc- 
casional lecture on the heinous and damnable 
sin of not punctually paying- his dues, which 
contributes little to the edification or improve- 
ment of his flock. 

From all this idleness arises the habit of 
drinking spirituous liquors to excess; or rather, 
the one and the other operate as cause and 
effect. The quantity of whisky consumed by 
the lower orders of the Irish, is so great, as 
to render the relation of the fact almost in- 
credible. At funerals, in some parts of Ireland, 
there are many gallons of whisky placed in 
the church yard, where those who are present 
at the interment drink often to inebriation. 
The consequence in all such cases is frequently a 
battle — As to a wake, whole nights and days are 
spent in drinking; the people whose relation 
is dead are impoverished ; and those who at- 
tend lose their time, their health, and their 
morals: from the time the person is dead till 
he ii interred, whisky is perpetually drunk, 
and the whole business is concluded by com- 
plete intoxication. The fairs present a scene 

* This remark in its application is obviously to be res- 
tricted to the inferior orders of the people. 



1*54] OBSERVATIONS 

of perfect confusion and intemperance, which 
is seldom finished without an engagement with 
the shellela. 

It is not to be supposed that the Popish 
religion directly produces habits of inebriation; 
but it sanctions the idleness of an ignorant 
and superstitious people, by appointing so many 
holidays, and by making intoxication a trifling 
offence: and these vices partly occasion that 
poverty and wretchedness which cover so 
great a portion of Ireland. True religion has 
a much greater influence on national wealth, 
than most people seem to be aware of. All 
will readily allow its importance as it regards 
virtue in general, and a preparation for a future 
state of existence; but they do not seem al- 
ways to recollect, that the virtues which it 
enjoins are directly calculated to increase opu- 
lence and national happiness. It will be found 
that superstition in every instance is favour* 
able to idleness, obstructive to commerce and 
manufactures, whilst enlightened piety, and 
sound morality, promote industry, and every 
species of improvement. Lt was to its pro- 
testant subjects that France was chiefly in- 
debted for its progress in manufactures and 
commerce during the sixteenth century; it is 
to foreigners, persecuted in their own country 
on account of their religion, that England 



ON IRELAND. [155 

owes a considerable share of fits eminence in 
several important branches of trade : and as 
to Ireland it had little or no manufacture of 
linen, even for home consumption, till towards 
the end of Charles the Second's reign, when 
the persecution then raised against the dissen- 
ters in Scotland, forced many of them over to 
the north of Ireland, where they began the 
linen manufacture of Ireland. Before that 
time, and for some years after, the Irish were 
furnished with considerable quantities of linen 
from Scotland ; but from that time they began 
to furnish themselves; and the persecution set 
up against the protestants in France, after the 
revocation of the edict of Nantes, in the year 
1685, accomplished what the persecution in 
Scotland had begun: for after the revolution 
many of the French refugees settled in Ireland, 
and greatly improved their manufacture of 
linens, especially those of the finer sort. Thus 
the Irish stand indebted for the establishment 
of their linen manufacture, rather to the bad 
conduct of their neighbours, than to any good 
conduct of their own, or to any encouragement 
from England.* 

How is the influence of superstition in Ire- 
land, which, if it does not directly produce 
idleness and vice, affords no principle of exer- 

* Dobbs on the Trade, &c. of Ireland. 



1 56] OBSERVATIONS 

tion and industry, to be diminished and coun- 
teracted? It is evident that this can never 
be effected by either compulsory, or penal 
laws; many favourable circumstances must 
concur entirely to remove evils which are be- 
come so inveterate. Education, however, will 
accomplish a great deal: it will impart to the 
mind something by which its powers may be 
exercised, by which its latent energies will be 
developed, and by which its activity will be 
increased and properly directed. 

The immediate cause of the indolence of 
the Irish, is the facility with which they pro- 
cure the means of subsistence. " In Ireland," 
says Sir William Temple, " by the largeness and 
plenty of the soil, all things necessary to life 
are so cheap, that an industrious man, by two 
days labour, may gain enough to feed him the 
rest of the week: which I take to be a very 
plain ground of the laziness attributed to that 
people. For men naturally prefer ease before 
labour, and will not take pains if they can live 
idle."— -Wherever any people obtain by the la- 
bour of four days, potatoes sufficient to feed 
them for six, it cannot be supposed that they 
will be industrious during the whole of the 
-week. Though it must be confessed, that 
this very circumstance tends ultimately to coun- 
teract the evils of such a ^condition, by limit- 



ON IRELAND. , [157 

ing the quantity of labour to the extent of 
the capital destined for its support. 

I feel a difficulty in saying whether the state 
of the Irish peasantry in general be greatly 
improved. Where there is so much poverty 
and wretchedness it is nearly impossible to 
ascertain with much precision the compara- 
tive advantages of the present generation, above 
those of their fathers. It is certain that little 
improvement has taken place in the comforts 
of the peasantry and lower orders in many 
counties; nor, indeed, is it possible that there 
should be any great amelioration in their con* 
dition, while they continue to give, as they now 
do, almost the whole produce of the land to 
the proprietor, content to live on a scanty and 
comfortless subsistence. 

The number of mendicants in Ireland, es- 
pecially in those parts where the population 
is chiefly Catholic, is extremely great. The 
very lower orders of farmers, or, rather, such 
as in England would be called cottagers, after 
they have planted their potatoes, often leave 
home on a begging excursion, and continue 
their tour till harvest. In such a country, 
where it is not thought dishonourable to 
beg, and where it is deemed extremely meri- 
torious to relieve beggars of every description, 
their number must necessarily be great. In 



J 58] OBSERVATIONS ON IRELAND. 

circumstances where such opinions are preva^ 
lent, the introduction of a system of poor- 
rates, like that in England, would only in- 
crease and perpetuate the evils of poverty. 

In answering' the question, how are we to 
relieve the wants of the indigent without in- 
creasing the number of the poor, regard should 
uniformly be had to the moral and religious 
instruction of the lower orders. It is this, 
chiefly, that produces that spirit of indepen- 
dence, which attaches meanness and shame 
to the provision of a workhouse, — which leads 
the parent to care for his offspring, and the 
children to console and support the age of 
their parents, — and which will render the 
humblest cottage, the abode not only of com- 
fort, but of virtuous and generous exertion. 



THE END. 



H. Bryer, Printer, 
Bridge-street, Blackfriars, London. 



( 331 ) 



NOTES, 



A. (P. 53.) 

1 HE Highlanders denominate the nearest relative 
oY the heir apparent Tanister. This name seems to 
imply, that the usages of Tanistry were originally 
common hoth to the Highlanders and Irish : they 
were afterwards modified by the different circum- 
stances in which these nations have been placed. 

The Tanister of a chieftain was always a person 
of considerable distinction with the clan. This was 
the case also among the Irish. 

" By the Irish custom of Tanistry," says Davies, 
u the chieftains of every country, and the chief of 
" every sept, had no longer estate than for life in 
" their chieferies ; and when their chieftains were 
e( dead, their sons, or next heirs, did not succeed 
" them, but their tanists, who were elective, and 
" purchased their elections by strong hand." 

" The Irish hold their lands by tanistry, which is 
f< no more than a personal estate for his life time 
4t that is tanist, by reason that he is admitted thereto 



33'J NOTES. 

" by election." The manner in which the tankfe 
was appointed is thus described. " Presently after 
"the death of any of their captains, they assemble 
" themselves to chuse another in his stead, and nomi- 
" nate the next brother ; and then next to him do 
"they chuse next of the blood to thetanist, who shall 
" next succeed him in the said captaincy." — Spencer's 
View of Ireland. 

The custom of Gavelkind has doubtless been derive 
ed from the same origin. " The partible quality 
" also of lands, by the custom of Gavelkind, which 
" still obtains in many parts of England, and did 
" universally over Wales till the reign of Henry VI1L 
" is undoubtedly of British original. So likewise is 
" the ancient division of the goods of an intestate 
" between his widow and children, or next of kin ; 
" which has since been revived by the statute of 
" distributions." — Blackstone's Commentaries, Vol. 
iv. p. 408. 

" I have heard that the beginning and cause of this 
" ordinance among the Irish,was especially for the de- 
" fence and maintenance of their lands in their poste- 
" rity, and for excluding all innovation or alienation 
** thereof unto strangers, and especially to the English,, 
" For when their captain dieth, if the Signiorie should 
" descend to his child, and he perhaps an infant, an- 
" other peradventure step in between, or thrust him out 
" by strong hand, being then unable to defend his right, 
" or to withstand the force of a foreigner, and, therefore 
" they do appoint the eldest of the kinne to have the 
*' Signiorie, for that he commonly is a man of strong 
#' y^ars. and better experience to maintain the inheji* 



NOTES. 333 

**tance, and to defend the country, either against the 
'* next bordering lordswhich use commonly to encroach 
** one on another,as each one is stronger, or against the 
" English, which bhey think lie still in wait to wipe them 
" out of their lands and territories. And to this end the 
" Tanist is always ready known, if it should happen 
" the captain suddenly to die, or to be slain in battle, or 
*' to be out of the country, to defend and keep it from 
u all such doubts and dangers. For which cause the 
" Tanist has also a share of the country allotted unto 
<c him, and certain cuttings and spendings upon all the 
* inhabitants under the lord." — Spencer's View of Ire- 
land. 



L2 



334 NOTES. 



B. (P.69.f 
(POETRY.) 

It must certainly be allowed, that there are some 
beautiful pieces of Irish poetry still extant ; but I 
have met with scarcely any thing comparable to the 
Gaelic poetry ascribed to Ossian. The Irish, indeed, 
have poems which they attribute to Ossian; they are, 
however, as different from the Highland poems which 
bear the same name, as the productions of the first of 
Doets are from those of the most insignificant rhymer. 
Let it not be thought that this opinion proceeds 
from nationality : for no one can be more willing to 
do the fullest justice to every subject which maybe 
supposed in any way to affect the honour of the Irish 
nation than myself. But it is impossible for any one 
to read a page of that invaluable treasure of Gaelic 
poetry ascribed to Ossian, without feeling satisfied 
that its author possessed a genius of the first order, 
and that no poet of modern times was competent for 
such a production. This is the opinion of every one 
who has read these poems in Gaelic, however un- 
believing formerly. 

Let those who have doubted of the authenticity 
of these poems in consequence of the fallacious re* 
marks of Mr. Laing, compare his critique with the 
Gaelic and not with the translation of Macpherson. 
They will find, that those phrases from w r hich Mr, 



NOTES. 335 

Laing thinks lie discovers plagiarism do not belong 
to Ossian, but to bis spirited translator; and that, 
consequently, the laboured critique of this gentle- 
man comes to nothing. It only proves that Mac- 
pherson, instead of expressing the ideas of his poet in 
language altogether his own, accepted, in some in- 
stances, of those which were formed ready for his 
use, and which he, no doubt, conceived, nearly con- 
veyed the meaning of the Celtic Bard. 



33ft NOTES. 



C. (P. 74.) 

Elizabeth had acts of parliament passed, not only 
against the bards,but against all those who entertained 
them. The following articles, says Walker, in his His- 
torical Memoirs of the Irish Bards, collected from 
those acts, were assented to by the Earl of Desmond, 
to be observed in the state. " Forasmuch as no small 
" enormyties doo growe within those shires, (i.e. the 
" counties of Cork, Limerick, and Kerry,) by the con- 
" tinuall recourse of certen idle men of lewde de- 
*' meanor, called rymers, bards, and dyce players, 
" called carroghs, who under pretence of their travaill 
" doo bring privy intellygence betwene the malefae- 
** tors inhabitynge in these several shires, to the grete 
" destruction of true subjects, that ordres be taken 
" with the said lordes and gentlemen (his followers,) 
" that none of those sects, nor outhere like evil per- 
u sons, be suffride to travaill within their rules, as the 
" statutes of Irelande doo appoint, and that procla- 
(t mation be made accordingly, and that whosoever 
" after the proclamation shall maynteine orsuffre any 
" suche idle-men within their several terrytories, that 
" he or theyshall paye suche fines as to the discretion of 
" the said commissioners or presidents (i.e. ofMunster,) 
" for the time being shall be thought goode. For 
" that those rymers do by their ditties and rhymes 
C( made to dyverse lords and gentlemen in Irelande in 
" the commendacion and highe praise ofextorsion, 
e( rebellyon, rape, raven and outhere injustice, en° 



NOTES. 337 

rf courage those lords and and gentlemen rathere to 
" follow those- vices than to leave them, and for mak- 
" ing of suche rymes rewards are given by the saide 
*' lords and gentlemen, that for abolishinge so hey- 
° nouse an abuse ordres be taken with the saide earle, 
" lordes, and gentlemen, that none of them, from 
" henceforth, doo give any rewarde for any suche 
" lewde rhymes,and he that shall offend the ordres to 
" pay for a fine to the queene's majestie double 
*' of the value of that he shall so paye, and 
" that the rymer that shall make any such rymes or 
*' ditties shall make fyne according to the discretiance 
** of the said commissioners, and that proclamation be 
" made accordingly ." — This law passed in the year 
1563. 



m NOTES. 



D. (P. 75.) 

The following poetical declamation,from O'Connor's 1 
Dissertation on the History of Ireland, though it may 
have received a little of its spirit from the translator, 
affords a good specimen of the powerful strains by 
which the bards attempted to rouse the indignation 
of their countrymen. 

"Oh ! the condition of our dear countrymen ! — The- 
*} wretched crew of a vessel tossed long about; finally 
" cast away. Are we not the prisoners of the Saxon 
" nation? The captives of remorseless tyranny? Is 
" not our sentence therefore pronounced, and our 
" destruction inevitable ? Frightful grinding thought! 
" Power exchanged for servitude ; beauty for defor- 
" mity ; the exultations of liberty for the pangs of 
"■ slavery ; a great and brave people, for a servile and 
M desponding race. How came this transformation ? 
" Shrouded in a mist, which bursts down ori; you 
" like a deluge ; which covers you with successive 
ef inundations of evil ; ye are not the same people ! 
" Need I appeal to your senses? But sensations have 
" left you ! In most parts of the island, how hath 
" every kind of illegal and extra-judicial proceeding 
" taken the pay of law and equity ? And what must 
" that situation be, wherein our only security (the 
" supensions of our excision) must depend upon an 
" intolerable subservience to lawless law ? In tru^h, 



NOTES. 33f> 

" our miseries were predicted a long time, in the 
" change these strangers wrought in the face of our 
* f country. They have hemmed in our sporting lawns, 
" the former theatres of glory and virtue. They have 
•' wounded the earth, and they have disfigured with 
" towers and ramparts those fair fields which nature 
". bestowed for the support of God's animal creation ; 
-" that nature which we see defrauded, and whose 
n laws are so wantonly counteracted, that this late 
u free Ireland is metamorphosed into a second Saxony. 
u The slaves of Ireland no longer recognize their 
" common mother, she equally disowns us for her 
*' children ; we both have lost our forms, and what 
M do we see but insulting Saxon natives, and native 
" Irish aliens ? Hapless land ! Thou art a bank, 
" through which the sea hath burst its way ; we 
" hardly discover any part of thee in the hands of the 
'• plunderer. Yes! the plunderer hath refitted you 
" for his own habitation ; and we are new moulded 
" for his purposes. Ye Israelites of Egypt; ye 
M wretched inhabitants of this foreign land ! Is there 
" no relief for you ? Is there no Hector left for the 
" defence or rather for the recovery of Troy ? It is 
" thine, O my God ! to send us a second Moses. 
" Thy dispensations are just! And unless the chil- 
" dren of the Scythian Eber Scot return to thee, old 
" Ireland is not doomed to arise out of the ashes of 
" modern Saxony." 



340 NOTES. 



E. (P. OS.) . 

The following letter was written by a Welch clergy-* 
man ; and the remarks which it contains on the ex-< 
pediency of teaching children in the first instance in, 
the language which they understand, are so obviously 
just, as to merit the fullest consideration. 

" As to the expediency of teaching young people, in 
" theirs* place, to read the language they generally 
ce speak and best understand, if imparting religious 
" knowledge is our primary object, as it most cer- 
" tainly ought to be, in instructing immortal beings, it 
" needs no proof, for it is self-evident. However, I 
" beg your attention for a moment to the following 
" particulars : making no apology for the great length 
** of this letter, as you desired me to be particular. — 
" 1. The time necessary to teach them to read the 
" Bible in their vernacular language is so short, not 
" exceeding six months in general, that it is a great 
" pity not to give them the key immediately which un- 
" locks all the doors, and lays open all the divine 
" treasures before them. Teaching them English re- 
(f quires two or three years' time„ during which long 
" period, they are concerned only about dry terms, 
" without receiving one idea for their improvement. — 
" 2. Welch words convey ideas to their infant minds as 
" soon as they can read them, which is not the case 
" when they are taught to read a language they do 
" not understand.— 3, When they can read Welch. 
6 



NOTES. 341 

" Scriptural terms become intelligible and familiar to 
" them, so as to enable them to understand the dis- 
" courses delivered to them in that language (the 
" language in general preached through the principa- 
" Iky;) which, of course, must prove more profitable 
" than if they could not read at all, or read only the 
** English language. — 4. Previous instruction in their 
" native tongue, helps them to learn English much 
" sooner, instead of proving in any degree an incon- 
"' veniency. This I have had repeated proofs of, and 
u can confidently vouch for the truth of it. I took 
" this method of instructing my own children, with 
" the view of convincing the country of the fallacy of 
*' the general notion which prevailed to the contrary ; 
" and I have persuaded others to follow my plan, 
" which, without one exception, has proved the truth 
" of what I conceived to be really the case.— 5. Having 
" acquired new ideas by reading a language they un- 
" derstand, excitement is naturally produced to seek 
" for knowledge ; and as our ancient language is very 
" deficient in the means of instruction, there being few 
" useful books printed in it, a desire to learn English, 
" yea, and other languages also, is excited,for the sake 
" of increasing their stock of ideas, and adding to their 
" fund of knowledge. I can vouch for the truth of it, 
" that there are twenty to one who can now read Eng- 
" lish, to what could when the Welch was entirely 
" neglected. The knowledge of the English is be- 
(i come necessary, from the treasure contained in it. 
*' English books are now generally called for ; there 
" are now a hundred books, I am sure, for every one 
" that was in the ^country when I removed from 
*' England, and first became a resident of these parts. 



342 NOTES. 

" English schools are every where called for, and I 
" have been obliged to send young men to English 
<c schools to be trained up for English teachers, that 
" Imight be able,in some degree, to answer the gene- 
" ral demand for them. In short, the whole country 
a is in a manner emerging from a state of ignorance 
te and ferocious barbarity to civilization and piety, 
" and that principally by means of the Welch schools. 
*f Bibles without end are called for, and read dill— 
f< gently, learned out by heart, and searched into 
** with unwearied assiduity and care. Instead of 
<c vain amusements, dancing, card playing, inter- 
" ludes, quarrelling, and barbarous and most cruel 
iJ fightings, we have now prayer meetings ; our con- 
" gregations are crowded, and public catechising is 
tc become pleasant, familiar, and profitable. One 
" great means of this blessed change, has been the 
" Welch schools. —6. By teaching the Welch first, 
" we prove to them that we are principally con- 
" cerned about their souls, and thereby naturally 
" impress their minds with the vast importance of 
" acquiring the knowledge of divine truths, in which 
" the way of salvation, our duty to God and man, 
" is revealed ; whereas, that most important point is 
* 6 totally out of sight by teaching them English ; for 
%i the acquisition of the English is concerned only 
" with their temporal concerns, and which they may 
"never want, as they may, as the majority do, die 
*' in infancy. In my opinion, in the education of 
" children, it is of the utmost importance, in the jinl 
" place to impress their minds with a sense that 
V they are candidates for another world, and that 



NOTES. 343 

the things pertaining to their eternal felicity there, 
are of infinitely greater importance to them, than 
the little concerns which belong to our short 
existence. The neglect of this is, I apprehend, 
a very great defect in the education of children. 
** What I have put down here, is, I apprehend, 
equally applicable to the Irish and the Highlanders, 
as to the Welch." 



344 NOTES. 



~G. (P. 139.) 

. It is curious, as well as melancholy, to remark the 
erroneous sentiments that have prevailed respecting 
the education of the people, even among those who in 
other respects are well informed. On this subject 
Mr. Linguet, counsellor of the Parliament of Paris, 
makes the following observations, in a letter to Vol- 
taire. " I think with you, Sir, that literature, the 
" arts, and every thing that relates to them, are inven- 
" tions highly useful for the rich ; excellent resources 
** for men of leisure who enjoy superfluity. These 
" are corals which amuse them in the state of per- 
" petual infancy, in which they are kept by their 
" opulence. Their vivacity evaporates upon 
• " those trifles with which they amuse themselves. 
" The attention they pay to them, prevents their mak- 
" ing use of their strength to more dangerous pur- 
€i poses. But I believe the case to be entirely differ- 
" ent with that other, and infinitely more numerous, 
" portion of mankind, who are called the people. 
" These intellectual corals become to them poisoned 
" amulets, which spoil and corrupt them without 
" remedy. The actual state of society condemns 
"them to have only hands; all is lost the moment 
" they are put in a condition of perceiving that they have 
tf a soul, 

" Could one of those divisions of mankind be singly 
f5 illuminated ; were it possible to intercept all the 



ISOTE. 345 

' rays which proceed from the little to the great, 
" and to cover with everlasting darkness only that of 
k ' the two which is no longer useful than while it is 
" totally blind, I would willingly applaud the la- 
M hours of the philosophers and their partizans. 

" But reflect, Sir, the sun cannot rise upon the first, 
•' without a twilight extending to the second, how- 
" ever distant it may be; and this class, when en- 
" lightened, necessarily inclines to appreciate, or to 
" mix with the other. Hence it follows that 
il light is fatal to both ; and that an obscurity in 
" which they might live quietly, each w r ithin its 
" respective limits, is infinitely preferable to a state 
" of illumination, by which they only learn recipro- 
" cally to despise or detest one another." 

Were the sentiments contained in this passage 
correct, they would present a view of human nature 
truly melancholy. In this case the benevolent task 
of enlightening the ignorant must be relinquished ; 
since these, as soon as they come to know that 
they have powers of mind susceptible of improve- 
ment, will not only be less happy than before, but 
will learn to despise or detest their superiors. But 
the friend of man has nothing to fear ; the opinions 
of Mr. Linguet are as far from the truth as the east 
is from the west. " No, Sir," says Voltaire, in reply, 
*' all is not lost, the moment the people are put in a con- 
" dition of perceiving that they have a soul. On the con- 
" trary, all is lost when they are treated like a herd of 
" bulls; for sooner or later they butt you zcith their 
*' horns:' Hist. Memoirs of the Author of the Hen- 
riade, p. 194. 



346 NOTES. 

Many well intentioned people seem to entertain a 
fear lest the common people should get too much 
learning. Count Rumford, the patron of the poor, 
observes, that «' it is certain that too much learning is 
*' rather disadvantageous than otherwise to the lower 
" classes of the people." (Rumford's Essays, Vol. 1. 
p. 391.) But why is so much anxiety entertained on 
this head ? The lower classes of the people have it 
not in their power to acquire too much learning. 

" In free governments, some considerable improve- 
" ment of the understanding is necessary even for the 
" lowest orders of the people ; and much strength 
f of religious principle is requisite to govern the 
" individual, in those common concerns of his private 
" life in which the laws leave the meanest subject, 
iS equally with his betters, master of himself. Des- 
" potism, sincere, unalloyed, rigid despotism is the 
" only form of government which may, with safety 
*• to itself, neglect the education of its infant poor. 
" Where it is the principle of government that the 
" common people are to be ruled as mere animals, 
" it might indeed be impolitic to suffer them to ac- 
" quire the moral discernment and the spontaneity of 
" man ; but in free states, whether monarchical, or of 
" whatever form, the case is exactly the reverse. The 
cc schemes of providence and nature are too deeply 
" laid to be overthrown by man's impolicy. It is 
" contrary to the order of nature, it is repugnant to 
" the decrees of providence ; and, therefore, the 
" thing shall never be, that civil liberty should long 
€e maintain its ground among any people, disqualified 
" by ignorance and profligacy for the use and enjoy- 

2 



NOTES. 347 

" ment of it. Hence, the greatest danger threatens 
" every free constitution, when by a neglect of a due 
" culture of the infant mind, barbarism and irreligion 
" are suffered to overrun the lower orders. Ignor- 
" ance and irreligion, were they once to prevail 
M generally in the lower ranks of society, would 
" necessarily terminate in one or the other of these 
<c two dreadful evils, — the dissolution of all govern- 
" ment, or the enslaving of the majority of mankind." 
— Bishop Horsley's discourse before the Society for 
p r omoting Christian Knowledge, 1793. 



348 NOTES, 



H. 



Mr. Newenham makes the following extraor- 
dinary remark in his last publication. " Elevated 
" both by their revenues, and above the level of the 
sf other clergy, the Roman Catholic prelates form a 
" necessary point of contact between the govern- 
" ment and them. Their stations, and the talents 
" for which they have been generally conspicuous, 
" give them an unlimited influence over the ciergy. 
66 Their pastoral addresses have been of essential ser- 
" vice in arresting or delaying the progress of dis- 
ff affection. The countenance which they have 
" generally afforded to the instruction of the lower 
* c order, has eminently conduced to raise that order, 
ie contrary to the utterly erroneous opinion which 
" seems to prevail in Britain, very far above the level 
" of the same order there, in point of literary attain- 
K ments" 

I am very willing to allow the Roman Catholic 
bishopsall the virtues and talents which Mr.Newenham 
assigns them, as well as to believe that they have pro- 
duced an important change in the general character of 
the inferior clergy ; I hope the change will be still 
greater. Popery like every other thing under the sun 
is subject to mutation ; it is not now in any country 
what it was a century ago; and in the course of another 
hundred years it will present a different appearance 

7 



NOTES. 349 

from that which even now it assumes. Having 
made this concession, I must utterly deny the truth of 
what is insinuated and affirmed in the latter part of 
the above remark. First, it is insinuated that the 
Roman Catholic clergy encourage the education of 
the poor. That, the bishops and many of the inferior 
clergy do so may be granted. But it is most certain, 
that in several parts of Ireland the parish priests have 
given no small degree of opposition to the introduction 
of schools. I mention this circumstance not with 
any desire to excite prejudice against these misguided 
individuals, or against the denomination to which 
they belong ; but that their superiors may put an end 
to a practice so unbecoming men who profess to be 
Christian teachers, and so injurious to the best inter- 
ests of the country to which they belong. 

Secondly, it is affirmed that the inferior orders of 
Ireland are far above the level of the same order in 
Britain, in point of literary attainments. I should re- 
joice to think that this were the case. But so fully con- 
vinced am I of the contrary, that the reasonings of the 
foregoing passes are founded on the supposition that 
the lower orders of the people of Ireland are grossly 
ignorant. I have travelled through a considerable 
part of Connaught, Ulster, and Minister, and have 
conversed with the people in their own dialect, and 
found them ignorant to a degree which must far sur- 
pass the belief of the people of Great Britain. My 
remarks on the Irish character shew that I am as wil- 
ling as Mr. N. to do justice to that character, to hold 
it in very high estimation. But my regard for that 



350 NOTES. 

character cannot induce me to conceal facts, facts too, 
which all the world know, tn the county of Kerry, 
indeed, Mr. Smith says, that classical reading extends 
itself even to a fault amongst the lower and poorer 
kind ; many of whom, to the taking them off more 
useful works, have greater knowledge in this way, 
than some of the better sort in other places ; neither 
is the genius of the commonality confined to this kind 
of learning alone ; for (says he,) '* I saw a poor man 
" near Blackstones, who had a tolerable notion of cal- 
" culating the epacts, golden number, dominical 
" letter, the moon's , phases, and even eclipses, 
" although he had never been taught to read Eng- 
« lish." 

That the native Irish are acute, and fond of know- 
ledge is a truth that has never been questioned ; and 
that many of them make extraordinary efforts to ob- 
tain information is equally certain. But the majority 
of them are sunk in the lowest state of ignorance and 
degradation. " Education," says Sir John Carr, 
6( has never beamed on the poor Irishman; senti- 
ee ments of honour have never been instilled into him ; 
tg andaspirit ofjust and social pride,improvement and 
" enterprize have never opened upon him. The poor 
" Irishman looks around him, and sees a frightful 
" void between him and those who, in well regulated 
" communities, ought to be separated from each 
" other only by those gentle shades of colouring that 
" unite the brown russet to the imperial purple. He 
" has no more power of raising himself than an eagle 
" whose wings have been half shorn off their pin- 



NOTES. 351 

M mage. The legislature has seldom noticed him 
*' but in anger, when that ignorance, which it has 
w never stooped to remove, has precipitated him into 
" acts incompatible with social tranquillity 9 and repug- 
" nant to bis nature." 



352 NOTES- 



I. 



At this day, says L eland, it will not be regarded as 
a distinguishing mark of barbarity, that the most 
outrageous offences were punishable only by an erie 
or fine. That for murder was to be paid by the per- 
petrator, or his family, to the son, or relations of 
the deceased, and in proportion to their degrees of 
consanguinity ; that for adultery, to the husband of 
the offender, by her father or nearest relations ; or, 
if a bond- worn an, by the tribe which entertained her, 
or by the church which she served. The incestuous 
person not only paid his eric, but was instantly ex- 
pelled from his tribe. Nor could any man be admit- 
ted into a new tribe, until he had paid eric for all 
offences whatever committed in his former residence. 
The fine paid to a son for the murder of his father 
was rated at seven cumhals, as they were called, or 
twenty-one kine. Eence we may form a judgment 
of the lenity of their penal laws in other instances. 
The property and security of woods, the regula- 
tion of water courses, but above all the property 
of bees, on which depended the principal beve- 
rage of the people, were guarded by a number of 
minute institutions, which breath a spirit of equity 
and humanity. We are not to wonder that a peo- 
ple accustomed to the refinements found in their 
own laws, should be pronounced of all others the 



NOTES. 353 

greatest lovers of justice. This is the honourable 
testimony of Sir John Davis and Lord Coke. With 
shame we must confess, that they were not taught 
this love of justice by the first English settlers.—- 
Leland's History of Ireland, Vol. 1. p. 36. 



THE END, 



W. Flint, Printer, Old Bailey, London, 



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